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Fun City Chorus

Fun City Chorus

Weekend fun fest to feature barbershop singing at its finest

By: From Staff Reports - The Sentinel-Record - Published: 06/12/2009
FOUR-PART HARMONY: Fun City Barbershop Chorus presents a recent show.

The Fun City Barbershop Chorus will host Barbershop Fun Fest and present a show at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Malco Theatre, 817 Central Ave.

Admission is free but donations will be accepted to further the support of high school singing programs.

Local entertainer Tom Wilkins will be the master of ceremonies.

The Fun Fest will be composed of barbershop singers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Tennessee.

They will meet at First Baptist Church on Saturday morning and rehearse with Joe Liles during the day, getting songs ready for the presentation that evening. Liles is the past president and executive vice president for the Barbershop Society. He is a published arranger and author and was a member of a gold medal winning senior quartet. Liles is well known and respected in the barbershop realm.

Liles will lead the mass chorus in several songs, including “Mam’selle,” “Drivin’ Me Crazy” and “Spiritual Medley.”

“Mam’selle” was a late ’40s hit for five different performers, including Frank Sinatra and Dick Haynes. The barbershop arrangement is by Tom Sando and has been labeled as “an amazing version” of the song.

“Drivin’ Me Crazy” was written by Bob “Diz” Disney in 1989, and has been performed by international winning quartets.

Singing it requires smooth singing and fine attention to the rhythmic patterns.

The “Spiritual Medley” was adapted to a barbershop arrangement by the Imperials, a gospel quartet founded in 1964, with solid four-part harmony, popular with barbershop singers and audiences alike, performed at a brisk tempo.

In addition to the mass chorus, the Fun City Chorus will perform along with the Diamond States Chorus and several quartets.

The Fun City Chorus meets Mondays in the Fellowship Hall of Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3819 Central Ave. Male singers of all ages are welcome. Call 501-627-4545 for information.