The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1947. The quartet won the 1950 International Championship and is best known for appearing in the 1957 Broadway production The Music Man and its 1962 film version. The quartet was active for 20 years, from 1947 until their final performance in New York City in 1967.

Origins

The Buffalo Bills began as an unnamed foursome, singing for community groups around Buffalo, New York. The original members of the quartet were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys Club; lead Al Shea, who was a City of Buffalo policeman; baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive; and bass Bill Spangenberg, a truck driver for a steel company. During an appearance at the Buffalo Quarterback Club, the nameless quartet was introduced as the "Buffalo Bills", which was meant to be just for the occasion, but the name stuck from that day on.

In February 1957, the Buffalo Bills competed on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, won first honors, and received an invitation from Godfrey to perform on his morning show for the rest of the week. The foursome took one-year leaves from their jobs (which later became permanent) and moved with their families to New York City. They continued to make television and radio appearances, including The Arthur Godfrey Show. The Music Man was a hit on Broadway, running for three years and 1,375 performances. Mitch Miller, the director of artists and repertoire for Columbia Records, was a fan of barbershop harmony and signed the quartet to the label. The Bills recorded four albums for Columbia through 1961. The group also recorded an album for Warner Bros. Records in 1963 and two albums released by RCA Victor in 1965.

The Bills reprised their stage roles in The Music Man for the 1962 film adaptation of the musical. Shortly after the film was completed, bass Bill Spangenberg became ill and was forced to leave the quartet; he died in 1963. Spangenberg was replaced by Jim Jones, bass of the Sta-Laters quartet.

Final years

For the next five years, the Buffalo Bills continued to perform regularly on Arthur Godfrey's show, appeared as a nightclub act, performed in regional and amateur productions of The Music Man and were headline entertainers at barbershop conventions and shows, as well as at state and county fairs and festivals around the United States and Canada. Their total career consisted of 1,510 performances on Broadway, 728 concerts, 675 radio shows, 672 night club and hotel appearances, 626 conventions, 218 television shows, 137 state fair performances, eight record albums, and one motion picture. Business disagreements and some health issues among the members led to the disbanding of the quartet in 1967. On May 24, 1967, the Buffalo Bills made their last official appearance at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

Vern Reed and Al Shea were the only members who were with the Buffalo Bills throughout their entire 20-year existence.

The last surviving member of the quartet is Jim Jones, who lives in Orlando, Florida. Shea died in 1968, Ward in 1989, Reed in 1992, Smith in 2007, and Grapes in 2015.

Timeline

References

  • Buffalo Bills at Singers.com