The Yale Whiffenpoofs are the oldest collegiate a cappella group in the United States, established in 1909.[1] Best known for "The Whiffenpoof Song," written by Meade Minnigrode (Yale '10), the group comprises senior men who compete in the spring of their junior year for 14 spots.[2] The business manager and musical director of the group, known in Whiff tradition respectively as the “Popocatepetl” and “Pitchpipe”[3] 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, 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.[4] The Whiffs' best-known alumnus may be Cole Porter, who sang in the original 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 US. 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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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. The chorus is derived from the poem “Gentlemen Rankers” by Rudyard Kipling, and was featured on the opening sequence of the TV 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. The Whiffenpoof Song
To the tables down at Mory's,
To the place where Louis dwells,
To the dear old Temple Bar
We love so well,
Sing the Whiffenpoofs assembled
With their glasses raised on high,
And the magic of their singing casts its spell.
Yes, the magic of their singing
Of the songs we love so well:
"Shall I, Wasting" and "Mavourneen" and the rest.
We will serenade our Louis
While life and voice shall last
Then we'll pass and be forgotten with the rest.
We are poor little lambs
Who have lost our way.
Baa! Baa! Baa!
We are little black sheep
Who have gone astray.
Baa! Baa! Baa!
Gentlemen songsters off on a spree
Damned from here to eternity
God have mercy on such as we.
Baa! Baa! Baa!
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" 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.
References
- ^ http://www.yale.edu/whiffenpoofs/history
- ^ 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.
- ^ Brozan, Nancy, "Whiffenpoofs: 'Gentlemen songsters' still," Special to the New York Times. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast))
- ^ 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.
