The Whiffenpoofs
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The Yale Whiffenpoofs are the oldest collegiate a cappella group in the United States, established in 1909.[1] Best known for "The Whiffenpoof Song", based on a tune written by Tod Galloway (Amherst 1895)[2] and adapted with lyrics by Meade Minnigerode (Yale 1910),[3] the group comprises college senior men who compete in the spring of their junior year for 14 spots.[4] The business manager and musical director of the group, known in Whiff tradition respectively as the "Popocatepetl" and "Pitchpipe"[4] are chosen by members of the previous year's group, although an alumni organization maintains close ties with the group.
The Whiffenpoofs have performed for generations at a number of venues, including Lincoln Center, the White House, the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Oakland Coliseum, Carnegie Hall and the Rose Bowl. The group has also appeared on television shows such as Jeopardy!, The Today Show, Saturday Night Live, 60 Minutes, Gilmore Girls and The West Wing.
Throughout the school year, the Whiffenpoofs traditionally perform Monday nights at Mory's, known more formally as "Mory's Temple Bar," circulating from room to room singing.[5]
The Whiffs' best-known alumnus may be Cole Porter, who sang in the 1913 lineup of the Whiffenpoofs when he was a student at Yale. Today the group often performs Porter songs in tribute.
The Whiffenpoofs donate part of their proceeds each year to the Whiffenpoof Children's Literacy Initiative, which aims to create 15 literacy centers in 12 countries, including the United States.[6] They travel extensively during the school year and take a three-month world tour during the summer. At one time most members were full-time students, but today many members take all or part of the year off and are effectively full-time professional Whiffenpoofs.
The word whiffenpoof originated in the 1908 opera Little Nemo by Victor Herbert, based on the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay.
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[edit] "The Whiffenpoof Song"
"The Whiffenpoof Song", the group's traditional closing number, was published in sheet music form in 1909. It became a hit first for Rudy Vallee in 1927 and later in 1947 for Bing Crosby. It has also been recorded by Elvis Presley, Count Basie, Perry Como, the Statler Brothers and countless others. Mory's refers to Mory's Temple Bar and Louis to a former owner of Mory's, Louis Linder. The chorus is derived from the poem "Gentlemen Rankers" by Rudyard Kipling, which was set to music by Guy H. Scull (Harvard 1898) and adapted with lyrics by Meade Minnigerode (Yale 1910).[3] It was featured on the opening sequence of the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep.
The chorus was also used in the movie 12 O'Clock High with Gregory Peck. It can be heard being sung in the background after the unit receives its first unit commendation.
[edit] Variations
Musical satirist Tom Lehrer spoofed "The Whiffenpoof Song" as part of his song "Bright College Days." Lehrer, a professor at Yale's traditional rival Harvard University, sings of "glasses raised on high" (at which point he removes his eyeglasses and holds them up) and of drinking a toast "to those we love the best," to rhyme with "we'll pass [as in 'pass the final exams'] and be forgotten with the rest." He also sings "to the tables down at Mory's, wherever that may be...," evoking a laugh from the Harvard auditorium crowd at the live recording.
The country music group The Statler Brothers recorded the song on their album The World of the Statler Brothers.
In 1973, the Harvard Krokodiloes first performed the group's own spoof of the song, known as "The Krokenpoof Song," with Harvard-specific lyrics, tongue-in-cheek references, bawdy variations involving references to Whiffenpoofs and sheep, rhymes such as "We'll drink lemonade Drambuie" in place of "We will serenade our Louis," and ending with "Baa, baa, humbug!"
[edit] Cultural references
In the Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein, Doctor Frederick Frankenstein states to Igor during the song "Together Again": "I happen to be the dean of anatomy at a world renowned school of medicine ... although I do sing a bit and was, in fact, a Whiffenpoof at Yale ... "[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "The Reverend James M. Howard ’09, "An Authentic Account of the Founding of the Whiffenpoofs"
- ^ "Time Magazine, August 2, 1937, "Whiffenpoof Contest".
- ^ a b "The Reverend James M. Howard ’09, "An Authentic Account of the Founding of the Whiffenpoofs/The Whiffenpoof Song.".
- ^ a b Brozan, Nancy, "Whiffenpoofs: 'Gentlemen songsters' still," Special to the New York Times. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Apr 20, 1987. pg. C.12. ISSN: 03624331. ProQuest document ID: 956358391.
- ^ Watson, Ben "Music made in England: Mondays at Mory's," Yankee. Dublin: Jul/Aug 2001.Vol.65, Iss. 6; pg. 65. Source type: Periodical. ISSN: 00440191. ProQuest document ID: 74227092.
- ^ http://www.yale.edu/whiffenpoofs/literacy/
- ^ Mel Brooks's "Young Frankenstein" Sheet Music collection
