ROSS BARBOUR OF THE FOUR FRESHMEN (The Chuck Granata Pet Sounds Interview Series) (Ep. 216B)

We kick off the Chuck Granata Pet Sounds Interview Series at the very beginning…it’s Chuck’s conversation with one of Brian Wilson’s most towering influences, Ross Barbour of The Four Freshmen! His father Murry took Brian to see the legendary harmony group when he was 14, and he got the opportunity to meet them. The concert and that meeting had a profound effect on young Brian, who said, “My voice was shivering as I was talking to them…I was so in awe of them. It was one of the biggest moments in my life. [Their song] ‘It’s a Blue World’ made me cry. I learned to make four-part harmonies from the Four Freshmen.” Russ passed away back in 2011, which makes this posthumously released interview a particularly priceless buried treasure.

Here’s just a few of the many things that Ross discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast:

• The genetic uniquenesses that combine to make family harmony an inimitable feat;
• Ross’s fantasy of developing a barbershop harmony supercomputer;
• How Brian Wilson built upon The Four Freshmen sound for The Beach Boys;
• How the group achieved the sparkling sound of their Capitol recordings;
• From where Ross feels the melancholy in Brian’s music originated;
• And what it felt like to ultimately be passed over in favor of groups like The Beach Boys who wouldn’t even exist without The Four Freshmen.

There’ll be a short sneak peak running publicly for free, but the entirety of this podcast will only be accessible on the Major Tier of Discograffiti’s Patreon. Don’t miss it, or you’ll only be getting part of the story. Get it as a one-off, get the full series, or better yet just subscribe.

Full Episode: Patreon.com/Discograffiti (available on the Major Tier & up)

Free Sneak Peek: linktr.ee/discograffiti

Subscribe to Discograffiti's Patreon and receive a ceaseless barrage (4 shows a week!) of must-hear binge-listening. It’s completely free to be a basic member, $1 to get your backstage pass, $5/month for the weekly Sunday show by & for our community, $10 for weekly early release, ad-free, super-extended Director's Cuts of the main show plus access to half our Patreon episode archive, & $20 for Discograffiti’s weekly bonus episodes and access to our entire Patreon episode archive. There are now over 300 Patreon episodes.

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