The Capitol Chordsmen Chorus An Overture Hall headliner!

There's a Madison Connection to the Buffalo Bills and 'The Music Man' Original Buffalo Bill later was in our Madison chorus 4/22/2007

A scene from the 1962 movie, "The Music Man"

Update 9-5-07: We've added a 1951 photo of the Capitalizers to the article; read on to determine the connection with the Buffalo Bills....The broken link to the April 19 Doug Moe column also has been fixed.

The Capitol Chordsmen are joining with barbershoppers around the world marking 2007 as the 50th anniversary of "The Music Man," a Broadway musical and major Hollywood musical which have helped boost the popularity of barbershop singing ever since.

What makes it particularly appropriate for the Chordsmen is that one of the original members of the Buffalo Bills -- the quartet which starred in both productions as "The School Board" -- once was a Madison resident and a member of the Capitol Chordsmen in the early 1950s. A current Chordsmen sang in a quartet with him during his time here and they still stay in touch.

(Read about the kickoff of the Capitol Chordsmen's salute to "The Music Man" and the Buffalo Bills at our annual show April 21. Click here. For more about "The Music Man," click here.)

His name is Herschel Smith, and here's how Decca Records told the story years ago when it released the album, "Barbershop's Best with the Buffalo Bills."

"They were organized, after quite a struggle, in September 1947 (in Buffalo, N.Y.). Al Shea, a Buffalo policeman, got the idea, and he broached it to Herschel Smith, a salesman for the National Gypsum Company.

"Thereupon they recruited William Spangenberg, another Buffalonian, who drove a truck for the Ryerson Steel Company.

"Now they were three: Al, the lead; Herschel, the baritone; Bill the bass. But there was no tenor.

"They hunted high and low, auditioned tall and short, until they discovered Vernon Reed, from the neighboring town of Tonawanda, director of a Boys' Club. From that time on they became a history-making set of champions.

"In 1950 the quartet was broken up when Herschel Smith was promoted and transferred by his company to Madison, Wisconsin. It was something of a crisis, but the organization was held together by Richard Grapes, who had been barbershopping for less than a year.

"Within two months Dick learned many of the group's most complicated arrangements -- and the Bills went on to win one...contest after another."

Because of the job transfer, Herschel wasn't able to perform on Broadway or in the movie, but he was the first to join with Al Shea to form what soon became perhaps the best known barbershop quartet ever. Together with Meredith Willson's music, they sparked widespread public interest across America in this uniquely-American style of four-part harmony singing. Smith is the last surviving member of the original quartet.

Maynard "Mike" Liscum, 85, a Capitol Chordsmen who now sings lead, sang tenor in a quartet with "Hersch" in 1951. The Capitalizers were together for a year and competed in district contest. The photo to the right shows the Capitalizers in their prime (l. to r.) Bob Kennedy, bass; Cal Callaway, baritone; Liscum, and Smith.

Herschel also was the Chordsmen's 1951 show chairman and arranged for the Buffalo Bills to be the headliners. The Capitalizers, with Smith, also sang on the program, although Hersch didn't join the Bills in any songs on stage that day.

Mike, who joined the Barbershop Harmony Society in 1949 in Richland Center and transferred to the Madison chapter in 1951, explains that Smith took the lead part with the Capitalizers until the latter took a job in the 1950s with IBM and moved with his wife to the Quad Cities and later Chicago. Madison was Smith's last time singing barbershop in an organized quartet, Mike recalls.

Smith and his wife, Arlene, attended Mike and Joan Liscum's 50th wedding anniversary in Madison in 2001. At the celebration the Smiths, who have performed together around the U.S. for years (she also was a barbershop singer in her own right), sang Broadway tunes.

Mike recalls introducing Hersch to the gathering by mentioning only that Smith had first sung with the Capitalizers. Hersch, in good humor, interrupted to ask, "WHICH quartet?" Mike, laughing, replied, "OK, you sang with the Buffalo Bills!"

The Smiths now spend part of the year in Florida, he said, then return to their summer home near Antigo, Wis., and visit Madison to see her relatives and the Liscums. Mike will tell anyone that he treasures his half century-plus relationship with the Smiths and barbershopping which made it possible.

(Mike was among those on stage at our annual show April 21 singing "Lida Rose" as the Chordsmen began its observance of the 50th anniversary of "The Music Man." Follow the links provided above for more details about "The Music Man.")

CAPITAL TIMES COLUMNIST DOUG MOE writes about "The Music Man," Herschel Smith and Mike Liscum in his April 19, 2007, column. Click here to read it.

LISTEN TO THE BUFFALO BILLS here.

BET YOU DON'T KNOW...the names of the individual School Board members played on stage and in the movie by the Buffalo Bills. They were (real names in parentheses) Olin Britt (Bill Spangenberg); Ewart Dunlop (Al Shea); Jacey Squires (Vern Read); and Oliver Hix (Wayne Ward). (Wayne Ward was not an original member.)

Photo at top: The above photo shows (left to right) Vern Reed, tenor; Al Shea lead; Wayne Ward, baritone; and Bill Spangenberg, bass. We haven't been able to locate a photo of the Buffalo Bills when Herschel Smith sang with them. Please contact us if you can help us.

Poster: This is the design of the original poster for the Broadway production.

Since the above story was written, we've received this recollection from one reader, Betty Cluett:

"My father, Al Learned, was one of the founding members of the Geneva, New York, chapter and that is where the 'Buffalo Bills' were in contest for the first time.

"When they had a meeting for the contest to draw for the order of appearance, my father asked me to pull the names out of the hat. The 'Buffalo Bills' were pulled out of the hat to sing last and also became the winners of the contest. So I picked the winners!!!!"