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I k lume xl east Carolina college, greenville, n. c, tuesday, September 29, 1964 Entertainment Series Begins W ith Tour Freshmen' Singers Four Freshmen open the 1964- SGA Popular Entertainment series a concert Thursday night in i Gymnasium. The program begin at 8:15 and is presented :rge to the students, staff fts wffl be required and may 1 up from the Central Tic- e in Wright Auditorium be- 9:00 and 4:00 today, tomor- Thursday. Tickets will be por presentation of Ac- ts Four Freshmen Story i d I age which is ernrght sensations, p the music business. " aeems, we are treated new star who fame on the sing e hit recording. rage of press Frt shmeo Story how- more of a plot. It is ' ditional success 6t :h struggles and frus- BILL COMSTOCK or member of the Four d point of service is an- ' multiple talent" named Bill jigs the second part up. plavs guitar, and is a cr insider alble accom- He's written more than unes which the group & thus far, and he shows l ring down in that de- P- V;cr. whose original home was . Ohio, formerly worked tsh Ken Albers in a group The Stuarts He also head- twn croup The Standouts ch toured extensively with ac- Dick Contino. He joined Freshmen in 1960. and was first - :h th Freshmen on "Voices Jf one of the many top-selling burns hat the group has v over the past few years. though not really a "scholar- ly pe. dfff possess a passion for I :s extremely well-read. 1 discuss any subject from ire to politics to his favorite ! team, the San Francisco 1 His hobbies include golf, ' oars, and of course, musrie. his ambitions, he's already d one big one. . .to become rnber of the top modern singing up in .America: the fabulous Four stamen. But Bill Comstook is the kind of t- no's never satisfied ss long there are more words to conquer. 'd like to be a successful song- I something which he is well SUB way to being, and he'd also ; to go back to college somedav, Jj&y because there are so many e things he wants to learn. trations on the way to the eventual happy enefcng. Their rise to the top has been a steady and deliberate process, a determined march from camparative obscurity to their un- challenged position as America's Xumber One modern vocal group. It was in 1948 that four 'young Hoosiers organized a singing quartet st the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music, in Indianapolis. Thev call- ed themselves "The Toppers but soon changed to the name that was to bring them so much fame and fortune. . .The Four Freslimen. During those first couple of years they managed, somehow, to 'keep from setting th world on fire. In fact, as Frosh Ross Barbour puts it, "We made a lot of music and very tittle money But while success continued to vade them, the boys never deviated from their basic approach to music a modern, inventive concept in vocal music that was quite unlike 'anything heard before Thev dog- vav ROSS BARBOUR It all began with Columbus. . . Columbus, Indiana, that is. Ttiat's where slim, smiling Ross Barbour hails from. A charter member of the Four Freshmen 'he's the third voice from the top), Ross was a mere 19 years old when he voiced his first harmony part with the quartet that was to become the out- standing modem singing group of our time. Like all the fabulous Frosh. Ross' talent is not confined to his singing ability. He plaps trumpet, drums, and is ailso a composer of consider- able skill, having been eo-writer on several tunes, including the Fresh- men theme, "And So It's Over Still another facet of Ross Barbour's talent is his "iLeroy . .which (as ciny good Four Freshman fan will tell you) is the delightful little voice he uses on occasional novelty vocals. But of all his accomplishments, Ross (takes most personal pride in his reputation as a "team player He's la sort of "quarterback" for the group, acting as master of cere- monies during the group's on-stage performances. When the Freshmen aren't travel- ling around the country, an! Ross gets a liibtJe time for recreation, he enjoys puttering around his home workshop. He is also fond of com- petitive sports, and occasionally per- forms with the Capitol Records soft- ball team in Hollywood. Ross' secret ambition? Well, if he had his way, he'd be "Tex" Bar- hour, the Western gunsllnger. . . movie style, that is. But until that unlikely event comes to pass, he's content to go right on being the "sparkplug" of the Four Freshmen team. gedly stuck to their guns, even though at times they doubted wheth- er the publdc would ever be ready to accept their completely different style. Then, as in all o-ood success stories, fortune smiled at last. In this case it was ushered in, most ap- propriately, by none other than Stan 'Kenton. pioneer and innovator in the field of modern music for more than two decades. The Freshmen were appearing in Dayton, Ohio, and Stan, who just happened to be in town, stopped in and caught their act. So impressed was Kenton that he phoned Capitol Records in Hollywood the very next day, and convinced them to sign the Freshmen to a contract. The rest, as the saying :?oes is his- tory. In 1952 their great version of It's a Blue World swept the country, launching what was to become a spectacular recording career for the Four Freshmen. It was followed by a steady parade of best-selling Capi- tol albums, the sales of which have now nearly reached the two-million mark. In addition, the Freshmen have won every major music poll during the past ten years. Thev have been honored time and again by Downbeat, Playboy, Billboard and a host of other leading publications, as the Notion's "Best Vocal GrouD" . . .a title they're not likely to re- linquish for a long, long time. Davis Speaks To Our YDC Dr. Rachel D. Davis of Kinston will speak at the Young Democrat Club at 7:30 on Tuesday, September 29 in the Library Auditorium. Dr. Davis is well known for vot- ing against the "Speaker's Ban Law Dr. Davis was born in Lenodr County on September 24, 1905 and graduated in the public schools of Lenoir and Wayne Counties. She graduated from Salem College with a B.S. Degree in Home Economics and minoring in Sociology. After teaching in a rural school one year, she did graduate work at the Uni- versity of North Carolina. Later she received an M.D. Degree in Nutri- toin from Columbia University, graduated from Woman's Medical College in 1932, and interned at Wo- man's Medical College Hospital and Woman's Hospital. She also did vdsit- ing graduate student work at the "Chicago Lying-in Hospital. She was a member of the North Carolina General Assembly House of Representatives for the 1959 and 1961 sessions and was nominated for the 1963 session. Dr. Daivis is active in the prac- tice of Medicine, in farming, and in real estate. She is a member of the DR. UDC, Descendants of the Palatines and DA, the Kinston Country Club, and the Coral Bay Club, Zeta Phd and Delta Gamma Sororities. She is a member of the Governor's Commission to study the Cause and Control of Cancer in North Caro- lina. She was a delegate to the In- ternation Cancer Congress in Mos- cow from July 21 through 28, 1962. Remained in Europe sdx weeks and was a close observer of the politi- cal situation. She has stated that her drawing force is the love of people, the whys and wherefores of our politi- cal, social, economic, cultural, and religious systems, nationally and in- ternationally. Her topic for Tuesday night will be "How The YDC Can help the Democratic Party and the Cam- paign" The faculty and student body are cordially invited. KEN ALBERS Ken Albers is "the (big guy . . the blond, quiet Freshman whose assortment of talents borders on the incredible. For Ken, who joined the Frosh in 1956. does a little bit of everything. He's the bass voice of the group, plays trumpet, mello- phone, and bass, arranges, writes songs and serves as "captain" of tall Four Freshmen rehearsals. Out- side of that he doesn't really con- tribute much. Although his ability as a trumpet player is often lost amidst all of his other talents. Ken Albers is, in the opinion of many of his fellow musi- cians, one of the finest jazz trum- pet men in the country. His brilli- ant solos are heard on many Fresh- men recordings, especially in the album titled The Swingers in which both Ken and trombonist Bob Flani- gan get a chance to displav their respective instrumental skills. Ken, who spent his early years in New Jersey, received his first trum- pet when he was a sixth-grader. He continued his musical studies as he grew older, and after a service stnt, enrolled at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. During these years he also gained a great deal of dance band experience before (becoming a permanent fixture with the Four Freshmen. Basically a shy person. Ken says h:s favorite "hobby" is sleeping. But beneath that calm exterior lies one of the true dynamic forces be- hind the success of the Four Fresh- men, la statement that would cer- tainly make the modest Mr. Albers blush. The fact remains, however, that the group's overall quality would be seriously diminoished without the blond, quiet presence of a young man named Ken Albers. Dr. Rachel Davis BOB FLANIGAN The familiar lead voice which does so much to identify the famous Freshmen "sound" belonds to Bob Flanigan. a six-foot-three-inch ex- basketball star who has been a mem- ber of the group from its very be- ginning. That happy event, inciden- tally, took place at Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis, where Bob first met the other lads with whom he was soon to be making musical history. Bob, whose high school athletic stardom never outweighed his de- sire for a career in music, is a fine trombonist whose solo work is quite well known to every Freshman fan. He is also an excellent bass playyer, a skill he acquired while in service) and now he is actually heard more frequently on bass than on trom- bone, although the horn still remains his first love. Bob is essentially an easy-going kind of character. For example, he still loves to travel, despite the many thousands of miles the Fresh- men have traversed over the past several years. And despite the fact that he makes his living as a musi- cal performer, he's always ready to join a jam session at the drop of a hat. Bob. who grew up in Greencastle, Indiana, has a natural sense of humor that never fails to add an extra measure of entertainment to any on-stage performance His hob- bies are playing and watching bas- ketball, and one of his burning am- bitions is to find the time somedtay to pi ay with the Stan Kenton or- chestra as a member of the trom- bone section. But for now he has his hands full being the "top" vodce, trombone soloist, bass player, and comedy specialist for the most ver- satile vocal group around. . .The Four Freshmen. Notices There are only a few days left for all persons who have not had their pictures made for the 1964-65 BUC- CANEER. They are urged to do so this week. .Appointments are being made in the College Union between 9.00 and 4:00. Pictures will be made the following day in the IFC Room, Third floor, Wright Building. PORTRAITS Students may pick up season tic- kets for non-students (Wives, dates, etc.) at reduced rates. Fine Arts Series $4.00; Popular Concert Series $10.00; College Theater Series $3.00; Lecture Series $2.00; Combined Series $15.00. Make checks payable to Central Ticket Office. Mail self- addressed envelope to Central Ticket Office, PO Box 2726, Bast Carolina Collage Station, Greenville, North Carolina. EC Slides By Howard 31-20 See Page S 2east Caroliniantuesday, September 29, 1964 Mechanized People One of the few things which eternally plague us is the fact that nobody seems to care about anyone else's personal prob- lems or feelings. Examples are countless and can be seen any day, anywhere. In an age of mechanization, it is an extremely sad thing to watch people becoming mechanical too. Smiles are me- chanical ; phrases are meaningless; gestures are careless. A moment's thought can result in a saving of countless hurt feelings. But few seem to think for even a moment. Causes and ideals seem on their way out. The middle-of- the-road approach is the only safe one. No one gains atten- tion by being outstandingly goodonly citstandingly bad and or in poor taste. The trend is down fo morality, kind- ness, and decency. There really is nothing wrong with caring. All too often one thinks of it as being embarrassing at times. Perhaps it is. but we cannot but feel that to become involved with some- thing better than ourselves (and there are many such things) is often the only apparent or recognizable part of us that is trulv human.