Four Freshmen Society Wisconsin
A JazzTimes Readers Poll
"Vocal Group of the Year"!

Gene Puerling of Hi-Lo's, Singers Unlimited, dies at age 78 3/28/2008

Gene Puerling

Legendary vocal arranger and performer Gene Puerling died March 25, 2008, of complications of diabetes.

An announcement posted at the Hi-Lo's Web site included this comment from Clark Burroughs, the last surviving original Hi-Lo:

"My old friend, most admired mentor and lifelong near-brother passed into the next existence night before last.

"I wish with all my being that I could stand next to him one more time. There were times when we were one voice, somehow larger than our two voices. His genius informed my entire life. His harmonies are embedded in my bones, and his humor followed me through more than six decades. I'll always love him."

Puerling was born in Milwaukee March 31, 1929. According to the Da Capo Book of American Singing Groups, "one of the most innovative jazz/pop vocal groups of all time, the pioneering Hi-Lo's influenced countless pop, R&B, and doo wop groups from the '50s right up to the present."

"They formed in December 1953 when Gene Puerling...and friend Bob Strasen met Clark Burroughs and Bob Morse. The latter two were vocalists with the Encores, the vocal group for the Billy May Band.

"When Billy's band stopped traveling, the Hi-Lo's were born. Reportedly named because of their extreme vocal and physical ranges (Strasen and Morse were tall, Gene and Clark were short), the Hi-Lo's practiced at Clark and Gene's Los Angeles apartment, refining their revolutionary voicings." (Another explanation given for the group's name was their impressive vocal range.)

"The group were themselves influenced by such artists as The Four Freshmen, The Modernaires, and Mel Torme's Mel-Tones.

"With Clark on lead, Bob and Bob on tenors, and Gene on bass, the Hi-Lo's fractured the traditional definition of vocal group structure with a tonal blend rarely equaled by any quartet."

PHOTO: The Hi-Lo's in rehearsal; Gene Puerling holds the chart.

Many fans of the Four Freshmen counted the Hi-Lo's among their favorites, as did members of the Flour Freshmen.

Puerling and Shelton later joined Bonnie Herman and Len Dresslar to form the Singers Unlimited, another group favored by many Freshmen fans.

"That foursome originally formed to record for commercials in the USA, but as time progressed they were persuaded to enter the recording studio to record a series of albums," according to Wikipedia.

"On the recommendation of pianist Oscar Peterson (who was also signed to the label at the time), they gained a contract with German label MPS. They recorded two albums in 1971, the first a cappella, the second with Peterson's then-current trio.

The Singers Unlimited "produced 15 albums, of which arguably the most well-known is their Christmas album (which was actually recorded before the group's association with MPS.) All of the 14 albums they recorded specifically for MPS (between the years 1971-1982) are collected in the seven CD box set entitled 'Magic Voices'.

"Puerling took advantage of cutting-edge multi-tracking techniques of German studio engineer Hans George Brunner-Schwer to create his advanced harmonic concepts and the group's signature sound.

"In the overdubbing process, baritone Puerling and tenor Shelton would often add two additional middle parts, after which all parts were 'doubled' and 'tripled'. Creating these extra tracks created the fuller, richer sound of the group's recordings, and is now a common recording practice.

"Puerling's Singers Unlimited arrangements earned him the reputation as one of the best vocal writers in the world.

"Members of the renowned jazz-gospel vocal group Take 6 often gives credit to Puerling and the Singers Unlimited as innovators in the a cappella world, claiming that they 'went to school' on Puerling's arrangements."

An honorary member of the Barbershop Harmony Society, BHS groups ACOUSTIX and the Vocal Majority each recorded Puerling custom charts.

Puerling's biography on The Hi-Lo's Web site notes:

"Gene Puerling became a disc jockey after graduating from (Milwaukee's) South Division High School.

"The talented singer-arranger has always had a head for business, owning a profitable popcorn concession while working around Milwaukee as a freelance singer.

"Gene also organized two vocal groups while still living in the mid-west, 'The Double-Daters' and 'The Honey Bees'. Gene's favorite singers, at one time, were Mel Torme and the Four Freshmen."

"The name Gene Puerling has been inseperable from vocal jazz since he founded the Hi-Lo's in 1953," according to Singers.com

"The quartet, which prefered not to be catagorized, was highly influential in many musical forms throughout the '50s & '60s.

"Traditional musical categories can't even describe them. They sang pop, jazz, barbershop, calypso, folk, bossa-nova and musical theater.

"Gene Puerling was the driving force in the group, providing them with most of the complex and unusual arrangements that became their signature. The way they sang was filled with an exuberance that was unheard of in the pop music world of the early 1950's, and remains uncommon even now.

"Their distinct sound and style made them a favorite of television variety shows and commercial jingles, and this legacy continues to the present day."