The Legendary Suntones Quartet Appearing In Nashville for a Meet & Greet Event Hosted by Nashville Singers!      

The SUNTONES began singing in 1957 with Gene Cokeroft on tenor, Clark Bell singing lead, Bill Wyatt on baritone and Danny Whipple on bass. In 1961, a new configuration of personnel that included Gene Cokeroft, Bob Franklin, Harlan Wilson, and Bill Cain won the Barbershop Harmony Society's International Quartet Championship. The foursome won the contest by a 350 point margin. 

Soon the SUNTONES could be found singing at New York's Plaza Hotel on the same bill as Benny Goodman. When Jackie Gleason moved his popular variety show to Miami, he needed a barbershop quartet, the members of which could also serve as backup singers. The SUNTONES appeared withGleason, Danny Thomas, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Mike Douglas and other well known stars such as Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Eddie Arnold, The Four Freshmen and even President Gerald R. Ford.

In addition to performing well, the SUNTONES set themselves apart by introducing new songs into their performances and by creating a library of recordings not yet matched in size by any other barbershop quartet.

The SUNTONES were innovators and ahead of their time, and in 2005, were inducted into the Barbershop Harmony Society's "Hall of Fame."

After the departure of Bob Franklin in 1979, the quartet continued to perform with Drayton Justus on lead, until their swan song in January of 1985. They made a handful of appearances after 1985 until the International Convention in Calgary, Alberta Canada in 1993.

The current configuration of the SUNTONES has Bob Franklin back in the lead spot. Sadly, Bill Cain lost his battle with cancer in 2004. The Suntones' final public appearance with Bill was at the 50th Anniversary of the Fairfax Chapter on October 18, 2003 though his health did not permit him to sing. Todd Wilson has been singing bass since 1999.

The SUNTONES will be in Nashville rehearsing for their upcoming appearance at the Barbershop Harmony Society's International Convention on July 7, 2011 in Kansas City. The largest all-male singing organization in the world will be honoring and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the SUNTONES winning the International Quartet Championship.

This "meet & greet" event will be held at Whitworth Memorial Baptist Church on the evening of May 12. THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO ATTEND.

More information about this event will be published in a future issue of this newsletter. More information about the SUNTONES can be found on their website www.thesuntones.com. 

Venue Selected for 2011 Fall/Holiday Concert      

The Concert Venue Task Force has secured our facility for the 2011 Fall/Holiday Concert. This year's Nashville Singers concert will take place at 7pm on November 19, 2011 at First Baptist Church of Donelson. The church is located at 2526 Lebanon Pike in Nashville. The sanctuary seats approximately 350 on the main level and has another 175 seats in the balcony. Parking spaces are plentiful. More details will be published in future issues of this newsletter. 

Five More Guests Attend April 7 Meeting      

Visitors last week included Andrew Battistelli, Jonathan Bentley, Sandy Derrick, Brandon McCaddin, and Justin Smith.  Our youngest member Taylor Wilson was pumped because all of these guests were in their 20s! 

Board Briefs     

The board of directors had a productive meeting on April 4. In its ongoing effort to model the best practices of other non-profit organizations, the board approved several new policies. including a Reserve Fund Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy, Document Destruction & Retention Policy, Whistleblower Policy, and job descriptions for the Executive Director, President/Board Chair, and Vice Chair.  

Bruce Cokeroft was also appointed VP of Membership Development, taking over the position from Ric Domenico, who asked to step down from the board to focus more time to his musical duties within the chorus.  Bruce is also now the Membership Committee Chair and will be working with Tim Mullican on membership-related duties. Rodney Turner was appointed Manager of Fun and Social Events.