In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Chord Busters History

Based in: Tulsa, United States.
The 1941 national champions were organized in Tulsa, OK in the spring of 1940 with Virgil Dow, tenor; Bob Holbrook, lead; Bobby Greer, baritone; and Tom Masengale, bass. The next year, Norman T. "Doc" Enmeier replaced Dow, who had moved to another city.

The quartet set a goal of placing high in the SPEBSQSA national quartet contest. To meet that goal, they met on an average of four nights per week, singing from three to five hours per night. At the 1941 contest in St. Louis, after two afternoons of elimination, eleven quartets were selected to face the audience on the night of July 5. When the final scores were totaled, the Chord Busters were selected as national champions.

The Chord Busters were invited to compete again in 1942 but declined. They agreed to attend the convention in Grand Rapids as non-competitors to receive recognition as champions and "sing up a storm" in hotel lobbies. They firmly established a tradition for, since that time, a quartet champion, once crowned, was never to compete again and therefore, was never to be dethroned.

Awards
1941 - Barbershop Quartet Champions