This postcard is a photo of a room with lots of pennants and tables. Fortunately the information written on the back tells what it is. It is "Harmony House Restaurant owned by Inez Thompson of 'Big Four' quartet."
The Big Four Quartet was the 1953 Sweet Adeline International Quartet Champion. The quartet was based in Chillicothe, Illinois and was made up of Inez "Junior" Thompson, Lucille (Miller) Bradley, Sarah LeMaster, Bertha Bradley and the replacement member Mary Waters. Sweet Adelines International is "a worldwide organization of women committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education, competition, and performance." Barbershop music is described on Wikipedia as follows:
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord, usually below the lead.Member Mary Waters wrote a book about the Big Four Quartette in 2000: 800 Pounds of Harmony: The Big Four Quartette. There is a CD recording of the group, Big Four Quartette, that can be ordered online. The CD is a remastered album the group recorded in 1958, plus several cuts from their live shows.
In the Harmony House restaurant photo, there are about 25 pennants on the wall, arranged around a map of the U.S. with pins placed at various locations. Both the pennants and pins probably represent places where the group performed. The quartet also performed on radio and several popular TV shows. On the far wall there is a portrait of group hanging behind some trophies. Here is an enlargement of the portrait:
I didn't find a recording of the Big Four online, but there are some recordings of recent Sweet Adelines champions. The video below is a recording of the 2014 champions, the Lovenotes.
I really do enjoy a good barbershop quartet. I had to listen all the way through to see what happened - but who won, I wonder?? I liked their first song much better than the second.
ReplyDeleteThey won. There is another video of the final, but it is longer and I liked this video better.
DeleteGreat use of music and pennants. Glad to know about winners of Sweet Adelines. I love harmony. But when I sing, I need something else on the same note as myself or I go warbling all over the place.
ReplyDeleteI can't sing at all.
DeleteUntil now I always thought that barbershop was a male activity.
ReplyDeleteWow, who knew! They sure can bring out the tunes!
ReplyDeleteGood close harmony is not that easy. If even one voice is just slightly off, the result will make people wince. Participants must be able to stay on pitch, hold their own part strongly against the others, but at the same time, listen to the other parts to make sure they're blending evenly. I've done it and it's hard work! The gals were great, by the way.
ReplyDeleteBefore this, I thought barbershop quartets were only for men too.
ReplyDeleteInez must have known something about good food as well as good harmony. I have a cabinet photo from the 1890s with the same name of "Big Four Quartet". I think it may refer to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad and Inez's home in Chillicothe, Illinois is on that rail line too..
ReplyDeleteThe background details in photos are fascinating and you've really done well exploring this one. It would have been so easy to dismiss it as a 'just a snapshot'.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine why those ladies called themselves the Big Four, but clearly they were big in style and voice as well as stature. Sweet Adelines International sounds like it would b a fun organisation to be part of, if only I could sing.
ReplyDeleteHow great - I never knew there were female barbershop quartets.
ReplyDeleteThat’s nice that you were abe to pick up on the pennants in the the prompt picture.
ReplyDelete"Harmony House" sounded so familiar - I thought it was a chain of restaurants. But when I googled it, I remembered that my mother had some china made by Harmony House.
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