By William “Skip” Deegans
The week’s 1985 photo shows The Men of Greenbrier prior to their second annual show at the WVSOM auditorium. Founded about 1984, they were a chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. Barbershop harmony is a style of unaccompanied vocal music that was rooted in the African-American traditions of the late 1800s in the south. It became widely popular in the 1930s as part of minstrel shows.
The Men of Greenbrier chorus entertained in the Greenbrier Valley into the 1990s. In 1985, Dave Nalker was President, Tom Holbrook was music director, and Norman Heldberg was associate music director.
Photo: Courtesy of Greenbrier Historical Society.
Sources: Greenbrier Historical Society, www.barbershop.org.
