FOUR FRESHMEN - AUTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: THE FOUR FRESHMEN (KEN ALBERS), THE FOUR FRESHMEN (BOB FLANIGAN), THE FOUR FRESHMAN (DENNIS GRILLO), THE FOUR FRESHMAN (AUTIE GOODMAN) - HFSID 221597

THE FOUR FRESHMEN, CO-SIGNED BY: BOB FLANIGAN, DENNIS GRILLO, AUTIE GOODMAN, KEN ALBERS
Page signed in red ink by all four members of the band's lineup from 1977 to 1982
Signatures: "The/Four Freshmen/Bob/Dennis/Autie/Ken" in red ink. 3x4¼, page. These appear to be the signatures of Bob Flanigan, Ken Albers, Dennis Grillo and Autie Goodman, the band's line-up from 1977 to 1982. The Four Freshmen were originally a barbershop quartet-influenced band that was formed in 1948 by brothers Ross and Don Barbour, Bob Flanigan and Hal Kratzsch. They are credited for being an early purveyor of vocalese, a genre of jazz singing with lyrics either improvised or set to instrumental solos and were well-regarded by jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman and rock legends the Beach Boys. Their hits include 1952's It's a Blue World. FLANIGAN, (1926-2011) is a founding member of the Four Freshmen and cousin to Ross and Don Barbour. A tenor, he was once the band's lead vocalist. He is also a trombonist and played bass for the band. He retired in 1992, but kept the band's name and is responsible for bringing new musicians into the band. ALBERS (1924-2007, born in Woodbury, New Jersey) was a singer who performed with the Four Freshmen from 1956 to 1982; he also played trumpet, mellophone and flugelhorn. An alumnus of the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, he sang with the Stuarts Quartet before joining the band. One of his first appearances with the Four Freshmen was in a live 1956 telecast of The Ray Anthony Show. GRILLO was a jazz composer and arranger who worked with numerous bands. He was a singer for the band and also played flugelhorn and trumpet. He was also an associate professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. GOODMAN, born William Austin Goodman, was a singer for the Four Freshmen and a multi-instrumentalist who also played with The Manhattan Transfer. Lightly toned. Edges are slightly irregular. Otherwise, fine condition.