Bing Crosby Glee Club - Whiffenpoof Song 1947 Yale

Details

Description

Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians Bing Crosby Glee Club - Whiffenpoof Song 1947 Yale - The Yale Whiffenpoofs are the oldest collegiate a cappella group in the United States, established in 1909. Best known for "The Whiffenpoof Song", based on a tune written by Tod Galloway (Amherst 1895) and adapted with lyrics by Meade Minnigerode (Yale 1910) & George S Pomeroy (Yale 1910) (though in fact a parody of Rudyard Kipling's Gentlemen Rankers), the group comprises college senior men who compete in the spring of their junior year for 14 spots. The business manager and musical director of the group, known in Whiff tradition respectively as the "Popocatepetl" and "Pitchpipe," are chosen by members of the previous year's group, although an alumni organization maintains close ties with the group.
"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.