The Glee Effect

It was precisely a century ago that the Yale Whiffenpoofs
first banded together to sing of poor little lambs who had lost
their way. Since that fateful night at Mory’s Temple Bar, choral
groups, a cappella or otherwise, have grown to become nationwide
high school and college staples, their allure ebbing and flowing,
as dictated by the cultural zeitgeist. Popularity reached a peak
during the Eisenhower era, when the appeal of the Hi-Lo’s alongside
that foursome of Fours—Lads, Preps, Freshmen, Aces—caused
clean-cut, brush-cut vocal groups to pop up on campuses
coast-to-coast. The phenomenon slumped in the 1960s, when such
sweet harmonies fell out of favor, trumped by folk songs, garage
rock and flower power. Hit recordings by the Persuasions, the
Manhattan Transfer, Bobby McFerrin, and the Nylons brought renewed
interest in the 1980s, followed by another slowdown in mainstream
recognition as the new millennium dawned.