1974 Champs – The Regents

Photos courtesy of BHS Archives

To Everything, Turn, Turn, Turn.

There is a season turn, turn, turn”

The Byrds

Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) 1965

A Time of Change

The late 1960’s and early 1970’s.

A period of great turmoil in the United States.

The war in Vietnam. The assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Hippies. Flower Power. Psychedelic drugs. Marijuana.

And there was turmoil in the world of Barbershop Harmony as well.

“I don’t need any printed arrangements if I can have a melody to start with and three other guys who have harmony in their souls” wrote past-president Carroll Adams in the Harmonizer. But many others believed differently, and by the early 1970’s some dramatic changes happened in barbershop harmony.

Ken Hatton, lead of the gold medal Bluegrass Student Union was a teenager at the time. “I recall the music from the 50’s and 60’s that my father had”. Most of all, he remembered that the music was not very commercially appealing, but… “it would light up your instincts – the way those chords would ring”. Hatton starts belting out “Do you hear the beat. Away down the street” in that staccato meter. “Man, it still raises the hair on the back of my neck”.

Hatton said that a lot of the reason for the changes in the Barbershop style had to do with the changes in the judging system. He explained that categories included Voice Expression, Balance and Blend and Harmony Accuracy. Other categories included Arrangement and Stage Presence. Hatton explained that Voice Expression was updated to Interpretation in the late 1960s or early 1970s. He said that about 1973, the judges decided to reduce the number of categories by combining some of them. They created the Sound category by combining Singing and Harmony Accuracy. They did leave the Arrangement category all by itself, however, to “protect the integrity of the style”.

Kathy Hawkins, daughter of legendary director Jim Miller, and wife of gold medalist Jay Hawkins also remembers this new era very well. “It was very apparent to me (that the music was changing),” She added that her father often spoke about what was happening. “He didn’t mind the change – he was always about good singing.”

And, among the championship quartets that were ushering in this new change was…

…The Regents.

The Beginnings

The quartet first formed in the late 1960’s with the first version of the Regents made up of Harry Williamson as tenor, Hal Kaufman as bass, Roy Eckert as lead and Ron Lennox as baritone.

“Harry Williamson and Hal Kaufman lived not too far from each other and were close friends”, Eckert recalled. He explained that they also sang together in the past. Eckert, who had joined the Cherry Hill, NJ Chapter (Pine Barons Chorus) in 1963, said that he was asked by Williamson in late 1966 to come sing in a quartet with him, Kaufman and Lennox. “They asked me to come sing with them. It just worked that I fit in with them and they decided I would make a good mix with the quartet”.

“When we got together for the first time,” recalled Eckert, who had only sung in one other quartet before this one, “I was awestruck. I had never been a part of anything like that before”. Eckert said the quartet would often rehearse at Hal Kaufmann’s home in Wilmington, DE.

Although unclear about how the quartet named themselves “The Regents”, Eckert remembered that “our outfits were kind of regal looking” and consisted of white waiter’s jackets white shirts with turquoise sash and cummerbund and black slacks. He said that they styled the outfits to resemble the Suntones – their favorite quartet.

One of the quartets’ very first engagements was at the DuPont Hotel in Wilmington, DE. He said that the quartet was standing in the lobby waiting to be introduced when a hotel guest – who saw them in their waiter-jacket uniforms – asked them if they could get towels for the Men’s Room!

The quartet’s first competition was the 1967 Mid-Atlantic District Quartet Contest in September 1967 in Washington, DC. The quartet placed 4^th overall, losing to the Nova-Chords, Men About Town and the Potomachords.

They then competed in the MAD International Preliminary Quartet Contest March 8-9, 1968, in Lancaster, PA. Unfortunately, they only placed 8^th. But, two days before the International Competition was set to begin, one of the other quartets that qualified had to drop out because of a death in the family. Eckert said that Harry Williamson got a call asking him if it was possible that the Regents could fill the spot. “This was a day or two before the contest!” lamented Eckert. To complicate matters, their new baritone – Irv Sutton – was on a family vacation. Eckert said that Williamson was able to reach him, and he cut short his plans!  Although unprepared and uncoached, the quartet was able to place 36^th. “It was unbelievable” recalled Eckert. “To sing on an International Stage in a quartet was quite something.”

Of course, the 1968 quartet contest was won by the Western Continentals who sang “Are You From Dixie”, “Heart Of A Clown”, “Little Town In The Ole County Down”, Annabell Lee”, “When The Cute Little Stranger Arrives” and “Baby Shoes”. That quartet – made up of Ted Bradshaw on lead, Phil Foote on bass, Al Mau on tenor and Paul Graham on baritone won by one of the closest margins in Barbershop history, only beating the Mark IV by 6 points and the Golden Staters by 38 points!

After returning from the International Competition, they wasted no time fulfilling singing engagements. On September 7^th, 1968, they participated in the Philadelphia Variety Club’s telethon for handicapped children in Philadelphia (now called Variety, The Children’s Charity of Delaware County), and was hosted by late-night talk-show host – and “Rat-Pack” member Joey Bishop, who interviewed the quartet after they sang.

They then competed in the MAD Fall District Quartet Contest on October 11-12, 1968, in Philadelphia, placing 4^th behind the Classics, Men About Town and the Union Jacks.

But then Eckert started having voice problems and had to stop singing, so the quartet broke up. They did not sing in the MAD Spring Quartet Qualifying Contest that spring, nor did they compete in the 1969 International Quartet Contest.

Then, in early 1970, Ron Knickerbocker was singing lead in a chapter quartet that was being coached by none other than Harry Williamson. “We were getting ready for the division contest, and we had a coaching session set up with Harry”. Knickerbocker said that just before that coaching session, the quartet had a big falling out and the baritone “stomped off – he quit on the spot”. He said that he called Harry to cancel the coaching session, and Harry responded, “Would you like to compete?” Ron recalled: “I thought about it for a minute and said ‘Yeah’. Harry said, “I can come up with a bass and baritone”.

The bass and baritone that Harry Williamson “came up with” were Hal Kauffman and Dave Reed, two veteran members of the Wilmington, DE Chorus of the Brandywine, which Harry directed. The quartet got together at Harry’s house on a Sunday night for their first rehearsal. According to Knickerbocker, Harry had picked out a couple of songs from the Choruses’ repertoire – which the three of them knew. “Although I didn’t know them, I could learn songs quickly”.

Knickerbocker said that the quartet “sounded pretty decent and we were all pretty happy with that”. So, they decided that they would compete in the upcoming Divisional competition the following weekend!  Ron said “we got together again on Thursday night – just two days before the contest – and we went over the stuff. It sounded pretty decent”.

The day of the contest, the quartet was slated to sing first because they were a late entry. After they sang, the chairman of the judges pulled them aside. He explained that one of the judges on the panel did not have a score sheet, so he used the back of an envelope. He went on to tell the quartet that they could accept that score or return at the end of the evening and sing again. “We decided to sing last – it gave us 50% more rehearsal time! – and we did score higher, so we qualified for the district contest that fall.

That District Quartet Contest was held in Washington, DC on October 30^th and 31^st, 1970. Sitting in the judging pit were some of the more well-known judges of the time, including Burt Szabo and Randy Loose. In the semi-final round, the Regents only finished fourth, behind the Exclusives, the Charisma Chords and the Potomachords. But, thanks to a strong final round, the quartet managed to leap ahead of the Charisma Chords and the Potomachords and place second behind the Exclusives.

Incidentally, the lead for the Exclusives was a gentleman named Joe Mazzone.

Over the winter and into the spring, the quartet fulfilled a number of singing engagements. Among them was an appearance on the DuPont Company Employee Chorus’ spring show. The event was held at Mont Pleasant High School. The DuPont Employee Chorus was founded in 1944 and well known for their string of appearances on the Christmas Cavalcade radio show.

In March 1971 the quartet competed in the International Preliminary Contest held in Harrisburg, PA. They placed 5^th overall behind the Easternaires, Union Jacks, Exclusives and Nova Chords and qualified for the International Quartet Contest that summer in New Orleans, where they placed 31^st.

Then things happened.

The Sunday after the 1971 International contest, the quartet met with their coaches, Don Clause and Mac Huff. Knickerbocker explained that they both believed that the quartet should have placed in the Top-20 instead of 31^st.

At about the same time, the Exclusives were meeting with their coach, Renee Craig, who felt as though they should have made the Top-10 – and even medal! According to Knickerbocker, Joe Mazzone was so upset about their 27^th place that he quit the quartet on the spot!

The news travelled fast and as soon as Harry Williamson and Hal Kaufmann caught wind of it, they decided to recruit Joe Mazzone to sing lead in the Regents. Their plan was to have Knickerbocker switch to baritone to replace Dave Reed, who had asked to step out of the quartet because of health reasons. “My wife and I drove down to New Orleans,” recalled Knickerbocker. On the way back home, they decided to stop in Bloomington, DE and visit Harry and Hal who were participating in their chapter meeting. “That’s when I found out I was no longer the lead of the Regents”.

Knickerbocker recalled the first time the quartet got together. “I didn’t know how to sing baritone – I had always sang lead”. But thanks to a coaching session with Freddie King, Knickerbocker was able to make the change. “He told me that when the baritone was singing above the lead, they should sing quietly.”   King knew a thing or two about singing baritone, having sung that part with the Oriole Four, the International Championship from the previous year.

“But, when you sing below the lead,” Knickerbocker recalled, “He told me to “Pour on the juice””! He then added “So I found out early in my career as a baritone that I should not shut up unless I was above the melody”.

The quartet then began working again with Mac Huff. “We did a lot of duet work,” recalled Knickerbocker. He said they worked “pretty hard” on the mechanics while the other parts would listen.

They then turned to Don Clause for help. Knickerbocker recalled that Clause had coached a lot of the top quartets in the Mid-Atlantic District, as well as other districts. “We had heard good things about him”. By later that year, they were working regularly with him.

By the fall of 1971, the quartet had really gelled. They won the Mid-Atlantic District Quartet Contest held in Philadelphia, beating the second place O’Lyrics by 250 points.

On Sunday, November 14^th, the quartet sang at the 11:00am service of the West Side Baptist Church in Port Norris, NJ. The quartet was becoming more adventurous with their music and started experimenting. That day, they did not sing acapella. Instead, they were accompanied by a pianist/guitarist. According to an article in the Wednesday, November 10^th, 1971, Milleville Daily, it provided “a very pleasing sound”.

They didn’t stop there. The quartet made appearances in Centerville, MD, Wilmington, DE, and Dundalk, MD. There were singing engagements for the Delair School PTA in Pennsauken and at the Hazelton Chapter Show in April 1972.

The quartet qualified for the 1972 International in early March along with the Checkmates, the Easternaires, the Nova Chords, and the Union Jacks. They knew the competition in Atlanta would be tough. Other quartets that qualified nationally included the Showboats from the Dixie District, the Crown City Good Time Music Company and the Pacificaires from the Far Western District, the Innsiders and the OK-4 from the Southwestern District and the Citations from the Cardinal District.

The 34^th International Convention, held in Atlanta at the Hyatt Regency Atalanta, drew over 6,000 barbershoppers with 45 quartets competing for the top spot. According to an article in the Atlanta Constitution, the week began with an opening performance by 1971 champs the Gentlemen’s Agreement, which performed in concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Stone Mountain Park on Sunday afternoon, July 2^nd.

The Regents placed third that year, losing to the Golden Staters and the Pacificaires. Among their songs were “A Tree in the Meadow”, “Knee Deep in Daisies” and “Little Boy”.  

1973

To begin 1973, the Regents were invited to sing at the 1973 Mid-Winter Convention January 26^th-28^th in Houston. The convention included tours of NASA and the Astrodome. They sang – along with the other medalist quartets from the 1972 contest – for 2000 barbershoppers at Jones Hall.

In the spring of 1973, the quartet had an “interesting experience” with a trip to sing on the Pekin, IL Chapter Show. Normally, the quartet would charter a private twin-engine plane that was piloted by Joe Mazzone – who was a commercial pilot – but bad weather over Indianapolis forced the quartet members to fly commercially.

They drove to Philadelphia to catch a flight to Baltimore, then transferred to a flight that for the flight arrived in Chicago. They were met at O’Hare Airport by their Pekin host, Sid Broadhurst, who had chartered a plane for the remainder of the trip. According to folklore, while in flight, the quartet serenaded the female control-tower operator at the Pekin Airport.

Once on the ground, the quartet boarded a mobile home where they changed into their uniforms for the evening and then began their preliminary warm-ups. Upon arrival at the East Pekin High School, the mobile home pulled up to the stage-door entrance and the quartet got off the bus and immediately went on to the stage!

That wasn’t the only show in 1973. The quartet appeared on the Paramus Chapter Annual show on Saturday, March 24^th, 1973 at the Paramus Catholic High School on Paramus Road. Also appearing on the show were the Dapper Dans of Harmony, 1967 and 1970 international chorus champions and The Forefathers, a comedy quartet from Fairfax, VA.

They also sang at the wedding of a fellow barbershopper, Eric Shrimp, on Saturday, June 2^nd, 1973. The ceremony took place at the Cathedral Church of St. John (Episcopalian) in Wilmington, DE.

As they prepared for the 1973 International Contest, the quartet again reached out to Don Clause for coaching. Clause had worked with the Dealer’s Choice the previous year at Harmony College – with incredible results. “We drove up to his place and he just absolutely started tearing the first couple of songs apart,” he said. “We thought about it and said ‘what the heck, we’ve got three weeks til International, we’ll have half-a-dozen rehearsals and we’ll get it put together”. But – like all good plans – their plan to rehearse the changes fell apart. “We only had two rehearsals and we didn’t get anything put back together.” This was obvious in their scores. Knickerbocker said they looked at the scoresheets at the end of the contest. “We scored lower in the first two sessions”. But their scores for the finals – the two songs that Clause didn’t work on – were the best of the evening! Looking back, Knickerbocker reflected that they would never do that again. “We never wanted to have to put anything back together. We wanted to be completely prepared.”

The Regents weren’t the only ones disappointed with the results from that convention. Kathy Hawkins remembers, “Everyone was talking about how great Portland was…’all the fresh air’ and I said all this fresh air is making me sick!” The reasons for her lament were that her father’s quartet, the Citations, which placed 7^th in 1972 failed to make the Top-10 in 1973. Furthermore, the chorus placed second behind the Cincinnati/Western Hills Chorus.

1974

One of the first shows the Regents sang at in 1974 was the Cherry Hill, NJ Chapter show on February 2^nd. Also appearing on that show was the ever-popular comedy quartet the Note-Wits.

Long-time barbershopper and arranger extraordinaire Steve Delahanty was the tenor of the Note-Wits at the time and vividly recalled the night. “It was my first show” as the tenor of the Note-Wits. “I was scared out of my wits”. Fortunately for him, the quartet opened with their “I ain’t Got No Body” package – in which each quartet member was dressed as a ghost, wearing a white sheet over themselves. “You couldn’t see how scared I was underneath!”.

Delahanty was struck by the Regents’ blend of harmony. “Joe Mazzone was one of the finest leads (in the Society)”. He said that the Regents greeted them warmly and were very gracious. Better yet, they complemented each other. “They didn’t try to be funny, and we didn’t try to sing well!” The two quartets would appear together on a number of shows including North Brookhaven on October 26^th, 1974 – just after they won the championship, Warren PA on February 15-16, 1975; The Chataqua Institute – before 10,000 people – on August 23^rd, 1975, Montour on October 8^th, 1975 and finally Asbury Park on December 6^th, 1975.

The Regent’s next show was at the Montclair, NJ Chapter show on Friday February 22^nd and 23^rd at Montclair High School. Among the songs they sang that weekend were “The Love Theme from The Godfather” and “You Make Me Feel So Young”. Also appearing on the show were The Roaring Twenties, who finished in the top ten at the 1973 International. The show was a huge success with sell-out audiences on both nights.

That March, they took their first step to the international championship by winning the Mid-Atlantic District International Preliminary Contest at the American Hotel in New York City the weekend of March 8-9-10, 1974. The Regents beat 35 other quartets to win top honors.

On to KC!

The week started with a bang! It was no small coincidence, that the headquarters hotel for the convention was the Muehlebach, where co-founders OC Cash and Rupert Hall first conceived the idea of a Barbershop Harmony Society in 1938.

The sellout crowd of 5,000 members and their families flocked to a mid-western barbeque that was followed by a rodeo. Everyone seemed to get into the event – International President Leon even donned a ten-gallon hat and got the rodeo started!

On Wednesday night, the fans were enthralled by the “Parade of International Champions” Show that included the Golden Staters, the Schmitt Brothers, the Gentlemen’s Agreement, and the Dealer’s Choice. On the following Friday afternoon, the Four Statesmen, Oriole Four and Suntones sang in another “Showcase of Champions”. Also appearing on the show were the Dapper Dams of Harmony from Disneyworld.

The Regents began their quest of the gold medal in the Thursday night quarter finals singing “Little Somebody of Mine” and “Little Girl”. They ended the night in front of The Innsiders and the Pacificaires, respectively. In fourth place was the Boston Common and rounding out the top 5 were the OK-4. It was an incredibly close competition – only 141 points separated all five quartets.

On Friday night, the Regents increased their lead in the semifinals, managing a 227 point advantage over second-place Pacificaires with “Tree in the Meadow” and “Little Boy”. Rounding out the top 5 on Friday night were the Boston Common, the Innsiders and the Soundtracks, respectively.

On Saturday night, the quartet drew tenth position – they would be the last quartet the 8,000 other barbershoppers would hear that night. The quartet saved their best for last – a package that until today is regarded as one of the finest performances by a championship quartet. Wearing their memorable red velvet suits, gray derbies, gloves and spats, they opened with “There’s a Broken Heart for Every Light on Broadway”. “We were glad to go on very last”, remarked Ron Knickerbocker. He said that the quartet was feeling pretty confident, so their nerves were at ease. “We figured we had done well the previous nights”, he added.

If they weren’t tense before they competed, they – and the other nine finalists’ quartets – must have been on the edge of their seats at the end of the night. The judges took over one hour to tabulate the final scores.

Finally, at about 10:30pm, President Leon Avakian made his way to the podium to announce the top five quartets. He began by announcing fifth place; the Soundtracks; fourth place, the Innsiders; third place, the Boston Common. At this point the quartet knew they were either silver or gold medalists. Knickerbocker recalled how hard they had worked leading up to the competition. “It might be us”, he thought. 

Avakian then announced, “in second place…the Pacificaires!” That was followed by the announcement “The Dealer’s Choice will present the first-place medals to…the Regents!”.

Backstage, the quartet was swarmed by well-wishers. People were shouting. There were lots of hugs. And among those congratulating the quartet were the Pacificaires. “They proved what gentlemen and champions they were”.

In reality, they had done very well. Once the scores were (finally!) tabulated, The Regents outscored The Pacificaires – second place medalists – by 439 points! It was the largest margin of victory in the history of the Society!

Kathy Hawkins remembers the 1974 convention very well. “It was one of the highlights of my youth,” she recalled. “We were at the finals,” she said. “Heard every quartet and of course the Regents won. It was great. A great contest”.

Delahanty remembers the night as well. “I was there in KC when they won. I remember that very well. We were delighted”. He said that noted arranger Ed Wasche put together alot of their music. “It was advanced and ahead of its time.” David Wright, noted barbershop arranger and historian also considered Wasche a “genius arranger in the barbershop style”. Delahanty said that the quartet “knocked it out of the park. There was no question about it.”

Likewise for Kathy Hawkins. “My dad really loved the Regents. they were special”.

They were awarded their gold medals by the Dealer’s Choice, and they also received leis from an unidentified beautiful young lady and an invitation to sing at the Mid-Winter Convention in Hawaii in January 1975!

That night, the quartet appeared in numerous “Afterglow” rooms, including an official visit to President Leon’s room.

At one point, Knickerbocker took time between songs to have a bite to eat in one of the many hospitality rooms!

On Sunday morning, the newly crowned champs – along with their wives – were invited to a breakfast hosted by legendary Music Director Bob Johnson at the Muhlenberg Hotel at 8:00am.

Even though there wasn’t the luxury of the internet and social media, the news of the Regents’ win travelled fast. Immediately after the champs were crowned, chapter officers from Philadelphia, Delaware County, Abington, Bryn Mawr, West Chester, Cherry Hill, Atlantic City and Wilmington chapters began calling chapter members to spread the news. In all, almost 500 people congregated at the airport – along with the press – to welcome the quartet to what was considered “the largest, most enthusiastic welcome any quartet received”. Chapter members hastily prepared banners and signs “Welcome Regents – Quartet Champs!”. As the four deplaned and entered the terminal, they were greeted by “You’re as Welcome as the Flowers in May” by the throng. The crowd then cheered wildly when someone grabbed the trophy and held it high.

Finally, the crowd silenced – thanks to Joe Mazzone raising his arms to quiet the fans – and the quartet sang “Carolina Blues” and Every Street’s a Boulevard in Old Broadway” as chapter members stood on chairs to get a better view.

The quartet was interviewed later that week by a reporter from the Wilmington, DE Evening Journal. Hal Kaufmann recalled that the quartet was exhausted after their return and needed several days to recuperate. “The weeks of practice, the emotional drain and the competition – well, we were a little tired”, he said.

Knickerbocker said that Mac Huff and Don Clause were very instrumental in their win in 1974. He said that Huff appointed him to keep an eye on Don Clause, though. Given the calamity in 1973 when Don Clause revamped their first four songs just three weeks before the contest, Huff wanted to make sure they didn’t make that mistake again. Knickerbocker said that they talked to other championship quartets “and I never heard of anyone else that organized their rehearsals that way”. Knickerbocker believes that was the most important factor in their margin of victory. Knickerbocker proudly stated, “We held the record for the widest margin of victory in the quartet contest”.

He added that Mac Huff was a wonderful vocal coach and vocal music professor – and also a competitor at International for a while. But more importantly, he was a fantastic teacher on how to get people to sing well.

He also recalled the many sessions with Don Clause. “he’d fly down from New York and we’d hole-up in the Holiday Inn near the Philadelphia airport”, said Knickerbocker. The five met twice a month, with each rehearsal lasting five hours.  “The hotel clerk would stick us in a corner-room so we wouldn’t annoy the non-music lovers”, he added.

Some of the techniques Clause made the quartet members practice included not having a meal before singing; warming up gradually by humming, followed by other vocal exercises. The quartet even went so far to hold washcloths over their mouths while backstage waiting to compete. “Once you get backstage, you can’t make any noise”, said Knickerbocker. They would continue their humming exercises, but the washcloth’s dampened the sound.

Incidentally, Hatton explained that Clause was a sort of “protégé” of Huff.

The Regents were the headline quartet at the 1975 Mid-Winter Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii. And – because we had won that year – we were the headline quartet. “It was wonderful,” remembers Knickerbocker. He explained that when they arrived, the Society gave them certain assignments prior to their Saturday night appearance. One of those was an appearance on the Don Ho Nightclub show. Don Ho was a poplar entertainer from Hawaii. “We went and were told very explicitly by his staff that we would only sing one song.” Knickerbocker said that after they sang their song, the audience called for an encore. After singing their second song, the audience again called for another encore! “So, we wound up singing three songs instead of one.” Afterwards, Don Ho appeared. When he finished that evening, he asked the quartet to join him on stage. He asked the quartet to harmonize to his popular signature song “Tiny Bubbles”. After the show was over and Ho went out to sign autographs, he asked the quartet to join him in his dressing room. “That’s when Harry insisted that Don Ho sing a tag with them”. Knickerbocker said that Ho politely turned down the offer, “but Harry – being Harry – insisted.” The quartet – with the Famous Don Ho – sang the tag to “When I leave The World Behind”. “It was alright!”

In April, the Regents performed at the opening of “Club Speakeasy” in Talleyville, DE. Of course, by this time, the Volsted Act/Prohibition had been repealed, so the need for an illicit establishment that sold liquor was no longer in need. The new club simply replicated the historical clubs of the Roaring 20’s. Tickets for the event sold for $16.00/couple.

Later that year, they sang at a fundraising concert for the Institute of Logopedics, the Society’s service organization (now known as Heartspring). The event was sponsored by the Lancaster, Reading and Lebanon PA Chapters.

This was the first known appearance of Ralph Childs singing tenor. Although he wouldn’t officially replace Williamson as tenor until 1976, he joined the quartet that evening, filling in for Williamson who was unable to make the appearance. The show featured a number of other quartets and choruses from the area and was a huge success.

Moving On…

Sometime in 1976, Williamson decided to step out of the quartet and was replaced by Childs. Knickerbocker recalled that he was “an actual Irish tenor – he had a beautiful voice”.

Sadly, the quartet finally disbanded in 1980 as Mazzone, who had just turned 60, was forced to retire from Continental Airlines. Still wanting to fly, he was hired by a private company that was in Florida, so he and his wife moved south.

In 1989, the quartet got together for a reunion at the International Convention in – where else? – Kansas City, the site of their championship 15 years before. Although there are reports of them performing in other engagements in 1989, this appearance is the last known time they were together.

The Regents were part of an era that carved a new path for today’s barbershoppers by using coaches, new, more entertaining arrangements, and musical styles. Among them were new techniques such as vowel matching – now more commonly known as diphthongs. According to Val Hicks, it was “a “bag of techniques and methodology” that brought a new season to the Barbershop world.

And the Regents were among the first ones to usher in that new season, paving the way for the Modern Era of Barbershop Harmony.

To Everything, Turn, Turn Turn.

There is a season, Turn, Turn, Turn…

About the Members of the Quartet

Harry Williamson

Williamson was a musician at heart, having learned how to play the piano at an early age. He enjoyed a variety of music including “everything from semi-classical to dance numbers and ragtime”. He began singing in high school with the high school Glee Club and the local CYO Choir.

He joined the Society in 1959, somewhat by accident. He was asked to play piano in a local variety show for a vocalist, and “I couldn’t resist chirping in with some impromptu harmony.” Another performer heard the duet and suggested they try singing as a barbershop quartet. That was all he needed. They four immediately joined the Wilmington, DE chapter!

Williamson worked for the DuPont Company for over 20 years as a communications and direct-mail specialist. He retired in 1990.

He passed away on March 13, 2013, after a long illness. He was 82 years old. Sadly, his son Edward “Ed”, “Eddie”, “EJ” Williamson died less than three weeks later after a long battle with cancer at the age of 49.

He was the only member who lasted through all four versions.

Hal Kauffman

Kauffman was a natural when it came to singing. He began his “career” at the age of seven, serenading audiences in his hometown of West Philadelphia with soprano solos.

In high school, he studied voice under the tutelage of Walter Johnson of the Westminster Choir College, having progressed from soprano to – yes, believe it or not – tenor! He appeared in many of the Wilmington Theater Group’s musicals including Kismet, Brigadoon, and the Mikado.

In 1959, Kauffman and his co-worker at DuPont teamed up with Williamson and another DuPont employee and began singing some polecat tunes that they got from a member of the Wilmington, DE chapter. That was all he needed. He quickly joined a series of quartets over the next ten years, singing bass and with Harry Williamson singing tenor.

Kauffman was employed for 32 years by the DuPont Company. He retired in 1985 as the supervisor of their Experimental Station. In later life, he was a member of the St. James Episcopal Church in Millcreek and volunteered with Meals on Wheels.

Incidentally, Kauffman wasn’t only a great bass singer. He was also a champion bowler. In 1959, he competed in the BPAA All-Star Ten-Pin Elimination Tournament. He did quite good. In the first round of the tournament, Kauffman bowled 20 games at five different establishments with a total of 3142. That qualified him to continue to the next round, which was held in Harrisburg, PA. Kauffman, who began bowling in 1950, bowled in four different leagues and sported a 183 average.

He died on May 2^nd, 2006 in Wilmington, DE at the age of 77.

Joe Mazzone

Mazzone is still regarded by many old-time barbershoppers as one of the five best leads ever in the Society. And like Kauffman and Williamson, he began his singing career quite early in life, going back to his first performance singing Ave Maria for his Episcopal Church.

In high school, Mazzone sang tenor in the school’s Glee Club and sang with the New Jersey All-State Chorus for three years. In 1956, Mazzone was a featured performer on the Authur Godfrey Talent Scouts show. That led to a string of engagements in and around Atlantic City. Among his fans was Neil Plum, a barbershopper in the popular Mid-Atlantic District quartet called the Boardwalkers. Unfortunately, Mazzone was not ready at that time to join the Society. It wasn’t until 1968 that Mazzone finally got around to joining the Society and he wasted no time joining the Exclusives.

Many know that Mazzone was a pilot for Continental Airlines for many years, but after serving in the US Navy, he worked as a firefighter for the Baltimore Fire Department. Although he loved the work, he lamented “if the pay were better, I’d still be there!”.

In 1981, Mazzone again teamed up with Knickerbocker and Bass Barry Brown and Tenor Ralph Childs to form Curtain Call. The quartet qualified to sing at the 1981 International Quartet Contest in Detroit where they finished 18th. They also competed in the 1982 contest where they placed 14^th overall. Unfortunately, the quartet broke up shortly thereafter because of job commitments.

Mazzone died on Monday, June 27^th, 2011, in Morristown, NJ at the age of 83. He was buried with his championship ring and medal.

Ron Knickerbocker

Born and raised in Northwestern PA, Knickerbocker graduated from Edinboro Teachers College in the late 1950’s and began teaching at the high school in Grove City, PA in 1959 and then later in the Downington, PA school system.

Knickerbocker was an accomplished musician – winning several state competitions in high school for his performances on the trombone. He also sang in the church choir with his brother Jerry.

Somewhere about 1966, Knickerbocker recalls seeing an advertisement in the local paper about the formation of a barbershop harmony chapter in West Chester, “which is about 10 miles from my house”. At first, he hesitated. “I said to myself, well I’m not gonna go because I probably couldn’t pass their audition”. But as fate would have it, the chorus sang at his high school later that year and that was when he decided to join. “So, at the next chapter meeting, I went to visit and sure enough joined up!”.

Knickerbocker became a member of the Society’s Director Development Team later in his Barbershopping career.

Ron is the only surviving member of the quartet.