Grandma's Boys is the barbershop quartet that won the 1979

SPEBSQSA The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...

International Contest. In the summer of 1968, a quartet of New Trier High School students from the North Shore of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

rode a Greyhound bus to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, checked into the "Y", sat in the back row at the international contest and listened in awe as quartets like the Western Continentals, Mark IV, and

Golden Staters The Golden Staters is a Barbershop quartet that won the 1972 SPEBSQSA international competition. Members *Tenor: Gary Harding *Lead: Milt Christensen *Bass: Mike Senter *Baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose v ...

won the top medals. They had recently named the quartet, and 11 years later, when three of the original four ran onstage in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

to claim their own gold medals, it still bore the name Grandma's Boys. Jay Giallombardo (baritone), Hank Brandt (lead), John Miller (bass), and Jeff Calhoun (tenor) were singing in three different high school quartets when they first got together on Memorial Day in 1968. Their determination to stick together was rigorously tested over the next few years. Miller and Giallombardo went off to college (at

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. Th ...

in Peoria and the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, respectively); a year later Brandt and Calhoun enrolled at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, spreading the quartet over . The next year, Giallombardo transferred to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, and Miller moved to Syracuse University, which brought them somewhat closer together, allowing them more opportunity to rehearse and perform at Barbershop chapter shows. Upon graduation, the Boys all settled back home in the Chicago area, until Calhoun moved to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Jim Sikorski was recruited from

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, and the quartet jumped from 10th place in international competition in 1974 to 3rd place in 1975. Sikorski had to drop out, and the Boys' coach, Mac Huff recommended Don Barnick of Cleveland. After only a few weeks of rehearsals with a new tenor, Grandma's Boys placed sixth in the 1976 contest. The combination proved the right one, however; in 1978 the quartet won silver medals, and at the Minneapolis convention in 1979 they walked offstage with the Landino Trophy and the gold medals of International Champions. Miller stayed with the group exactly one more year, before moving to

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and a career in TV that now has him presiding over marketing the NBC Sports Network.John Miller: NBC biography
/ref> Randy Loos moved from Atlanta and sang bass with the group for their remaining six years. John went on to win another championship in 1985 with

The New Tradition The New Tradition is the California Barbershop quartet that won the 1985 SPEBSQSA international competition. The name refers to an earlier quartet, the Grand Tradition, with the same lead and baritone. It is not to be confused with the New Tra ...

quartet; Barnick sang bass with Keepsake; Giallombardo became the founding director of the

New Tradition Chorus The New Tradition Chorus is a men's barbershop chorus based in Northbrook, Illinois, in the Chicago area. Founded in 1982, they have competed at the International Chorus Contest of the Barbershop Harmony Society The Barbershop Harmony Socie ...

in Northbrook, Illinois; and Brandt worked for the Association of International Champions for a while.

Discography

* ''Tonight'' LP * ''I Had a Dream, Dear'' LP * ''Grandma's Boys III'' LP * ''When The Toy Soldier Marched On Parade'' CD

References

External links

Discography and biography
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Primarily A Cappella

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AIC entry

AIC entry
(archived, includes more information) {{Authority control Barbershop quartets Barbershop Harmony Society