Non-Winning Quartets
This page includes favorite “non -winners”.
Four Under Par – A Comedy Quartet Like Few Others
Four Former Members of the Westchester, NY “Chordsmen” formed one of the funniest quartets in the history of the Barbershop Harmony Society
Comedy Prevails!
Over the years, the Westchester Chordsmen have had many memorable moments. Of course, they are known for being great entertainers, but they also will surprise an audience with comedy that is fun and original. There was the “Seventy-Six Trombones/Coaching” Parody. Instead of “How can there be any sin in sincere”, the chorus sang “How can there be any win in this year, help us get good and score high”. Then there was the “Dummy” Package, where each member held two mannequins to make it appear the chorus was three times its size. And – of course who could forget the Christmas Carol Parody, which spoofed the Dicken’s classic.
That comedic flair inspired a number of great comedy quartets over the years including the Racquet Squad and the Note-Wits. But one quartet in particular – which is still regarded as one of the finest comedy quartets in the history of the Barbershop Harmony Society – sprang up from the chapter as well.
Four Under Par.
The Beginnings…
The original four members of the quartet – Joe Hunter, Roger Payne, Brian Horvath and Ed Dolan – met while singing in the Fordham University Glee Club in the early 1970’s. Shortly thereafter, they were invited to a chapter meeting of the (then called) Golden Chordsmen. Hunter explains that each of them “became hooked upon it” (Barbershopping) and joined the chapter soon after. By the end of the year, they decided to form Four Under Par.
In 1976, the quartet entered their first competition – a divisional contest in the Mid-Atlantic District. Sadly, they placed last. “Absolutely last. We beat nobody,” said Hunter.
But the following year, they improved greatly, placing eighth overall in the much larger – and more competitive – MAD District Quartet Competition October 7-8 in Ocean City, MD. Sitting in the judging pit that weekend was Interpretation Judge Jan Muddle. “I recall how Four Under Par was such a refreshing relief from the performance norm.” He said they were truly “pioneers that cracked the door wide open for others to follow. “
Hunter recalled the weekend as well. He explained that the quartet was actually in fourth place after the first round, but – because they weren’t expecting to make the final round – had only prepared two songs. “”Our second round was bad enough to knock us down to eighth.” Hunter said that if they had sung the latter two songs in the first round, “we never would have made the Top 10.”
Just after that competition, the quartet began to develop their own, original material. “That was all influenced by the great chapter quartets such as the Note-Wits and the Raquet Squad,” said Hunter. He said that their creativity inspired Four Under Par. “As far as we were concerned, Barbershopping was this creative, fun thing.” He later realized that the Chordsmen had developed this culture that very few other chapters had pursued.
At about the same time, Ed Dolan, the bass of the quartet, got a new job with Pan Am, and was transferred to London, England. Hunter said that he competed with the quartet for one more year – the year they placed eight – but ultimately, they all decided that it would be best for the quartet if they found a replacement.
The group turned to Frank Hendricks, who – according to Hunter – was “a very fine singer from Fairfield (CT).” Hendricks joined the Westchester chapter in the early 1970s at the request of Steve Delehanty, who invited him to sing with the Christmas chorus. Hendricks said he attended the first rehearsal “and that was it.” Hunter added that Hendricks had sung in various quartets over the years, but mostly in support or fill-in rolls. “He had not yet been in a viable quartet of his own.” Because of this nomadic style, Hunter said that Hendricks was dubbed the “suitcase bass.” Hendricks said that he joined the quartet just two weeks before they were to sing at a show in New York City. “I was pleased that they asked me, and I was pleased to join them.” He recalled their first rehearsal at Hunter’s home in Queens. “I enjoyed the singing very much.”
According to Hunter, Hendricks – who was ten years older than the other quartet members – was a little more “buttoned down” than the other three. “We were very crazy. We were out there.” But that actually worked to their advantage. “That created an interesting dynamic,” Hunter said. “Even though he had a wicked sense of humor, Hendricks was the ‘voice of reason’, and the rest of us were the ‘oddballs’.” Hunter said that it created a “fine balance” in the quartet. “It allowed us to play off of Frank’s character – there couldn’t be Costello without Abbott.”
Comic Geniuses
In 1978, the quartet decided to travel to the international convention in Cincinnati, OH even though they were not a competitor. Hunter explained that they were looking for more exposure – and possible bookings – so they wanted to sing at the Quartet Showcase. They also used the opportunity to sing at numerous other venues such as hospitality rooms, etc. “We were writing these original songs and doing this original comedy, and no one had heard of us”.
Hunter said that sitting in the audience at one of the showcases were Jim Klein and Pete Neushul of the 139th Street Quartet. The two had met the quartet several months prior while singing on the Westchester Chapter’s Annual Show and wanted to rekindle the relationship. Neuschel remembers seeing them in Minneapolis. “They were doing some really funny stuff. It was hilarious!”
Neushul reflected on some of their more “spicier” songs like “Don’t Bring Lulu”. The original lyrics were “You can bring Pearl, she’s a real nice girl, but don’t bring Lulu“. But the quartet would honk a horn to replace certain words. Neuschel starts singing “You can (HONK) Pearl, she’s a real nice girl, but don’t (HONK) Lulu!“. He laughs as he remembers the line. “They were comic geniuses.”
Their feelings were mutual. “Pete and Jimmy became like sponsors for us,” said Hunter. He said that they “opened doors for us” and got the quartet booked on a number of shows. Hunter says that the relationship has lasted until today. He said that Neushul understood the message they were trying to convey to the audience “and he loved quartets that actually said something”.
As a result, the quartet soon became part of what Hunter called a “little Mafia” with the 139th Street Quartet, the Boston Common and the Cincinnati Kids – another young quartet that Pete Neushul and Jim Klein took under their wings. The quartets often sang together on chapter shows. Hunter explained that in the late 70’s and early 1980’s, many chapters would have a headline quartet – such as the 139th Street Quartet – and a second quartet that was usually a Top 20 or Top 10 quartet from the prior year.
Knickers And Argyle Sweaters
Four Under Par was best known for their “golf routine”. “I love golf,” said Hunter who worked as a caddy at North Hills Country Club on Long Island when he was young. “And we liked the name Four Under Par, being self-deprecating and having a double-meaning.” It was a good thing the name was available when they registered because “our second choice was ‘Four Bitten Fruits’.”
The group began writing material that played off of popular songs such as “Daddy, You’ve Been a Mother To Me”. Instead of “Daddy, Dear Old Daddy, you’ve been more than a daddy to me” they wrote “Caddy, dear old caddy, you’ve been mostly a bother to me.” This was offset by their well-known knickers, bopper caps and argyle sweaters.
But the Knickers and Argyle sweaters they wore for their golf routine was only one of their many costumes. They ranged from baby diapers to knights-in-armor. “And I made most of them on my old Singer sewing machine!” added Hunter’s wife, Diane.
The quartet’s biggest accomplishment was placing 10th at the 1980 International Quartet Contest in Salt Lake City. Hendricks said, “we blew out the audience” with their semifinal set, which included an original song by Payne called “Old New Hampshire” – “it was so unusual”. The theme of the song was that New Hampshire was a boring place. “Could you think of anything exciting that happens in New Hampshire?”
Hunter explained that they (obviously) got very good scores in the State Presence category, “But we also got very good scores in singing and music.” He said that the quartet figured it would be a popular song, but never expected it to help get them into the final round.
“We came out of nowhere to finish in the Top 10. Nobody expected us to be in the Top 10 – including us!” Hunter said that they were so surprised, they did not have a third set of costumes or a third set of songs. “Here we were in the finals, and we had to find people to wash our clothes because we didn’t have clothes for the finals. We had to pull two songs out of our repertoire that we would never have sung in contest.”
Hunter added that the quartet felt that they could “do no wrong”, so when it came time to compete the following spring in the 1981 International prelim, March 13-14 in Philadelphia, the quartet had prepared four completely new songs. “We got four standing ovations,” said Hunter. “Four. One for each song”. But, because of a judging discrepancy, the quartet only placed ninth and did not qualify for the International Competition. Hunter believes that the reason was that their comedy was so different than any other group, the judge had trouble scoring the songs properly.
But the one good thing that happened from that incident was that several of the judges reached out to the quartet to better understand how comedy works. This paved the way for quartets like Chordiac Arrest, which placed 5th in 1988 and 1989 and FRED, who won the Gold Medal in 1999. “They were inspired, which is cool!” Hunter explained that what they did “just didn’t come naturally to some people. For us, it was second nature.” Hunter credited Fred Steinkamp and Steve Delehanty and the entire Westchester chapter for their inspiration.
Another interesting thing that made the quartet so unusual was that none of the members had any type of formal training in either music or comedy. “Frank was a stockbroker, Brian was a programmer and Roger worked for Blue Cross/Blue Shield in communication”. Hunter worked in banking managing software development. Hunter said that Roger was known for his wit. “He was a little reserved but had a rapier wit.” He said that Frank was always a Type-A personality. “You had to be if you wanted to be successful as a stockbroker,” Hunter mused. Brian “was a sweet guy that everybody loved.”
Fun Over Function
Hunter explained that the quartet approached their work from a different angle than other quartets. “We approached it from having a vision and having the material, but we were not great singers.” He said most quartets focused on their singing technique, but often ignored the creative component.
Hunter spoke about how Four Under Par shared the same philosophy as the 139ths Street Quartet. “Pete (Neushul) and I always talked. What’s your bag? Can the audience look at you and know who you are – and are you bringing that to the audience.” Hunter said that they both agreed that was more important than technique or anything else. “We understood that we were not as talented vocally as the other quartets, but we were very talented in our ability to perform and entertain.”
Neushul agreed with Hunter. “Most of the quartets that are there are technically good, but as with any kind of art, you have to be coming from someplace and going somewhere.” Neuschel used his quartet as an example. “139th Street was coming from this place. Southern California guys who were saying ‘This is really a lot of fun, and this is how you do it’.” Neuschel said that a quartet wants to put their art out there and there’s a reason why they’re singing it. “Four Under Par were definitely THAT!”
Thanks to their tenth-place finish in 1980 – and their relationship with the Boston Common and the 139th Street Quartet, the quartet was kept quite busy. They would often spend 25 to 30 weekends a year travelling to chapter shows and sing-outs from the East Coast to the West Coast (they even sang on the Honolulu, Hawaii Chapter Show!).
The quartet went on to place 29th in 1983, 17th in 1984 and 21st in 1986 at the International Quartet Contests. In 1985, they were crowned District Champions of the Mid-Atlantic District after numerous second and third-place finishes in previous years. Hunter said the group “would have continued forever,” but other members of the quartet wanted to call it quits. “They felt very pressurized to be forced to write something new every year and to make sure it was funny.” Hunter said they realized that they had made their impact and decided to “walk away clean.”
The number of people who recall the zany antics and hilarious songs of Four Under Par is widespread. A lot of what is said about the quartet can be wrapped up by Dan George – who was a member of the Big Apple Chorus. “They changed our hobby (for the good) forever with their innovative and hilarious performances.”
Hunter reflected back on their time together – and their accomplishments. “We made an impact that was above and beyond just being good singers. And that’s a tremendous gift – a privilege. And if you can do something like that, you make a difference”.
About the Members of the Quartet:
Joe Hunter is still very active in barbershopping. He is a certified Presentation Judge in the Barbershop Harmony Society and serves as a trainer for aspiring chorus directors. After leaving the Westchester Chapter, Joe went on to direct the Big Apple Chorus and the Twin-Shores Chorus. Besides Four Under Par, Joe sang with Reveille, who were crowned MAD District Champs in 2002. He was inducted into the MAD Hall of Honor in 2013. He is currently retired from his career with Chase Manhattan Bank where he was Vice-President of Software Development. He currently lives in Union, Kentucky with his wife Diane and is the Music VP for the Southern Gateway Chorus. He also directs the Delta Kings Chorus in St. Bernard, OH. His quartet, Up All Night – which has been together for ten years – has medaled in the last two Senior Quartet Competitions.
Frank Hendricks, the “Suitcase Bass” retired from Barbershopping about 2006 after many years with both the Westchester Chordsmen and the Big Apple Chorus. He still maintains many relationships with the members of each group and can often be spotted in the audience of their functions. Hendricks served in the Navy in the early 1960s as an officer. After returning from Vietnam, Frank went to work as a stockbroker in White Plains for 55 years. He currently is retired and lives in Stamford, CT.
Roger Payne – who both Hunter and Hendricks credit for the majority of their success – was regarded as the “The Franchise” because of his natural ability to be funny. Like Henricks and Hunter, Payne also became a member of the Big Apple Chorus and served as an associate director for a time. He became a Category Specialist in Music for the Barbershop Harmony Society and was well known as a talented arranger. After leaving Four Under Par to be able to spend more time with his family, he got back into quartetting with Joe Hunter as another member of the Reveille quartet that won the MAD District Championship in 2002. He was also inducted into the MAD Hall of Honor in 2009. Sadly, Roger Payne passed away in August, 2006.
Brian Horvath, the “sweet guy that everybody loved” was also involved with the New York Choral Society and the Fordham Glee Club Alumni. He was also an accomplished organist who played for Blessed Sacrament Church in Bayside. Joe Hunter’s wife, Diane remembered joining him as a vocalist at a number of weddings. She also recalled that Brian played the organ at their wedding (and Roger Payne was the Best Man!). After singing with Four Under Par, he went on to sing with the Sol G Ferndock Memorial Quartet and Downtown Gazebo. Sadly, he passed away in November 2021.
Reprinted from Overtones magazine, a publication of the Westchester, NY Chapter of the BHS.