Barbershop Valentine stories
The essence of the Barbershop quartets' singing valentines is the surprise element. A wife will be serenaded at work (with a call first to her company to be certain this is OK), a couple having a romantic dinner in a restaurant, a dump truck driver...I kid you not...turning beet red as he stands in the parking lot beside his truck, and 4 dapper gentlemen sing love songs to him from his wife, then hand him a long-stemmed red rose as his burley coworkers watch!
My favorites to hear about are the frail and elderly in nursing homes. All those able to gather around have primped and perfumed as if they were going to a Broadway show. Often the managers have brought in plates of home made cookies and a little punch, turning an otherwise bleak day into a Valentine's Day party for all the residents. The person, usually a woman, being serenaded gets to be the star of the day. Sometimes the family member who has ordered the singing valentine will opt for a more expensive package, providing a dozen real long-stemmed roses so each resident can have her own to take back to her room.
The singers go out to their vehicle dabbing tears from their eyes.
Now that Dick has been singing for 4 or 5 years, I pretty much know the routine. For about five days on and around the 14th, they'll take orders for Smith Mountain Lake and Rocky Mount. The first year Dick sang with them, he looked just grand in his black tuxedo pants, shiny black shoes, white dress shirt, red vest, and straw hat with a red band. I saw him off at 7 am since their first call was at a jobsite.
I knew he wouldn't be home until late that evening, so I threw on my old sweats, ran a brush through my hair, and started vacuuming. The phone rang; it was Dick, asking me to give another of the wives a call since her husband had forgotten his cell phone. I made the call and went back to my vacuum cleaner. I heard a car crunch onto our gravel driveway. Looking out, I saw four guys in red vests approaching my front door and Dick was in the lead. Could I lock the door and run to the bathroom to put on some lipstick? Or maybe a BRA? Nope, the door opened just as I bent to scoop up my Lhasa Apso so I could hold her in front of me, ostensibly to keep her from attacking the men's ankles as they sang lovesongs to a rather bedraggled spouse.
The call I'd gotten earlier from Hubby was just to be certain I was home. Later that day, the other wives burst into howls of laughter. Their husbands had surprised them, too, when they first began singing in a quartet.
I learned that one woman (not a BBS spouse) had answered her door, said, "Just a minute, I'll get her," whereupon she closed the door and ran to put on lipstick and brush her hair. Clever lady!
Some of the BBS music: Let Me Call You Sweetheart, I'll be Seeing You, Shenandoah, Ain't Misbehaving, Let the Rest of the World Go By, Over the Rainbow. My Dad knew them all, and Hubby was amazed that I knew all these songs he had to memorize. His parents didn't play radios or records when he was growing up in a very rural area. I was so fortunate that this 40's music formed the background of my childhood.
My favorites to hear about are the frail and elderly in nursing homes. All those able to gather around have primped and perfumed as if they were going to a Broadway show. Often the managers have brought in plates of home made cookies and a little punch, turning an otherwise bleak day into a Valentine's Day party for all the residents. The person, usually a woman, being serenaded gets to be the star of the day. Sometimes the family member who has ordered the singing valentine will opt for a more expensive package, providing a dozen real long-stemmed roses so each resident can have her own to take back to her room.
The singers go out to their vehicle dabbing tears from their eyes.
Now that Dick has been singing for 4 or 5 years, I pretty much know the routine. For about five days on and around the 14th, they'll take orders for Smith Mountain Lake and Rocky Mount. The first year Dick sang with them, he looked just grand in his black tuxedo pants, shiny black shoes, white dress shirt, red vest, and straw hat with a red band. I saw him off at 7 am since their first call was at a jobsite.
I knew he wouldn't be home until late that evening, so I threw on my old sweats, ran a brush through my hair, and started vacuuming. The phone rang; it was Dick, asking me to give another of the wives a call since her husband had forgotten his cell phone. I made the call and went back to my vacuum cleaner. I heard a car crunch onto our gravel driveway. Looking out, I saw four guys in red vests approaching my front door and Dick was in the lead. Could I lock the door and run to the bathroom to put on some lipstick? Or maybe a BRA? Nope, the door opened just as I bent to scoop up my Lhasa Apso so I could hold her in front of me, ostensibly to keep her from attacking the men's ankles as they sang lovesongs to a rather bedraggled spouse.
The call I'd gotten earlier from Hubby was just to be certain I was home. Later that day, the other wives burst into howls of laughter. Their husbands had surprised them, too, when they first began singing in a quartet.
I learned that one woman (not a BBS spouse) had answered her door, said, "Just a minute, I'll get her," whereupon she closed the door and ran to put on lipstick and brush her hair. Clever lady!
Some of the BBS music: Let Me Call You Sweetheart, I'll be Seeing You, Shenandoah, Ain't Misbehaving, Let the Rest of the World Go By, Over the Rainbow. My Dad knew them all, and Hubby was amazed that I knew all these songs he had to memorize. His parents didn't play radios or records when he was growing up in a very rural area. I was so fortunate that this 40's music formed the background of my childhood.
posted by Marion | 7:14 PM
3 Comments:
My husband just sent me a press release from the Willards about their Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at Westlake. I will look forward to see Dick and the other Harmeneers perform.
Marion, I LOVE these stories. From your vivid description, I could readily envision the embarrassed dump truck driver holding the red rose in his big calloused hand and the nursing home residents all dressed up for the singing. Wonderful! I would love to be able to sing in a group like that (if I COULD sing, that is!)
I know and love all those songs too. My Pop-Pop used to play them on the banjo and sing and we'd all sing along with him. My Nana would dance. This was all around the kitchen table. I love 30s and 40s music. The Inkspots. Timi Yuro's "Hurt." You put me in the mood for all that stuff Marion.
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