However, their home base was considered the Harmony Barbershop, named after the harmony in their songs, and they sometimes serenaded vacationers getting a haircut. The first set for the WDW Dapper Dans was at the GAF Photo Shop, performing for the cast members and their families a week before the grand opening of Walt Disney World. They were only given a three-month contract, something not unusual at Disney, where an entertainer was never fired - just didn't have their contract renewed because of "ever-changing entertainment needs in the park." Many entertainers, however, kept getting their three-month contracts renewed over and over again for decades as if it was a permanent job. They were Dick Kneeland (lead), "Bub" Thomas (bass), who came from Disneyland and performed as a "Dan" for more than two decades, Jerry Siggins (baritone), and Bob Mathis (tenor). The first Dapper Dans of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World started in October 1971. But the Dapper Dans at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are the groups that have endured.
The jokes always brought laughter from the audience, especially when they announced the songs they would sing: "She Was Kind to the Regiment but Rotten to the Corps" or "Let Me Call You Sweetheart… because I've forgotten your name."įor a brief period, there was a Dapper Dan quartet at Hong Kong Disneyland and a UK quartet performed at Disneyland Paris from 1992 to 1995 as the Mainstreet Quartet. The superb four-part harmony sung a cappella by this quartet became an institution on Main Street U.S.A., with a song list of more than 100 songs in the repertoire. But we need a quartet that could entertain their parents… the older people." We have plenty of entertainment for the kids. "We had a quartet but all they did was stand up there and sing," Anderson told Charles "Bub" Thomas who joined the Dapper Dan group in Disneyland in 1969. ("Dapper Dan" was a turn-of-the-last-century phrase referring to a well-dressed and groomed gentleman who was "dapper" or stylish.) Marker, who was the leader of the quartet, came up with the new name, The Dapper Dans, for the re-imagined group in 1959. He wanted one that could do some vaudevillian-style comedy interaction with the guests and maybe a little tap dancing. In 1959, Anderson wanted more than just a singing group on Main Street U.S.A. Corson also handled talent booking at Walt Disney World.Ĭorson, who primarily handled the bigger entertainment "names" in talent booking, worked with Sonny Anderson, who handled the musical "atmosphere" entertainment for the park (and later Walt Disney World). Chuck Corson, a former stage manager for the Fred Waring Chorale who was talent booker for the park, gathered four singers from that group to form Disneyland's first Main Street Quartet. In 1957, Disneyland entertainment director Tommy Walker arranged for a barbershop quartet to perform on Main Street to add a little more atmosphere to the 1890-1910 time frame of the location. The Dapper Dans are a beloved Disney theme park tradition that bring a greater sense of authenticity to Main Street U.S.A.
Please be sure to confirm all current rates, information and other details before planning your trip. They are thrilled to be making their Hollywood Bowl debut.Editor's Note: This story/information was accurate when it was published. and have several CD recordings to their credit. They travel extensively, performing their classic routines throughout the U.S.
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Most recently, this past New Year's Day, the Dapper Dans were seen by more than a billion TV viewers riding and singing on their four-seat bicycle in the 2005 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.
Notable Southern California appearances include singing in Laguna Beach Festival of Arts' Pageant of the Masters - a splendid recreation of Norman Rockwell's classic barbershop quartet cover from The Saturday Evening Post. Perhaps their most famous TV credit is providing the singing voices for The B-Sharps' hit "Baby On Board" on The Simpsons fifth-season episode, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet." Numerous other TV credits include That '70s Show and Home Improvement. Recently they had the distinction to recreate the famous singing busts from the Disneyland Resort's "Haunted Mansion" attraction, singing opposite Eddie Murphy in Disney's The Haunted Mansion movie. Their unique combination of barbershop harmony, vaudevillian antics, tap-dancing, and Deagan Organ Chimes truly enhances the charming turn-of-the-century atmosphere of Walt Disney's Main St., U.S.A. The DAPPER DANS have a tradition of entertaining audiences in the Magic Kingdom since 1959.