The Rapscallions
The Rapscallions is the Barbershop Harmony Society's 1984 International Quartet Champion.
Quartet Members
Winning Members:
- Tenor - David Smotzer
- Lead - David Wallace
- Baritone - Tim Frye
- Bass - Jeff Oxley
Contest Placement
Internationals
Contest Date: July 6, 1984 Contest Location: St. Louis, MO
| 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
|---|---|---|
| 9th | 6th | 1st |
District (JAD)
- 1981 1st
Recordings
- Premiere
Extended History
The Rapscallions, formed just four years earlier by four Bowling Green State University students, amazed the barbershop world when they won the 1984 international quartet championship in St. Louis.
The quartet, in fact, placed in the top ten internationally each of the three years they competed: 9th in 1982, 6th in '83, and first in 1984.
Tenor Dave Smotzer, lead David Wallace, bari Tim Frye, and bass Jeff Oxley formed the quartet in 1980 while working summer jobs in Cedar Point, Ohio to earn money to return to Bowling Green University.
All were members of the A Cappella Choir and the Men's Chorus at the school and had other musical training. Oxley had sung lead roles in campus productions of Man of LaMancha and The Marriage of Figaro and was studying for an operatic career.
Graduating in 1982, most of the foursome had moved on to business careers by the time they won the gold. Both Smotzer and Wallace were insurance agents and Smotzer was directing Cincinnati's Southern Gateway Chorus, while Wallace was directing Sweet Adeline's Canton City of Flags Chorus. Frye was a school teacher and music director in Wayne County, Ohio, and Oxley was continuing his musical training at the Cincinnati School of Music. He would go on to win two more gold medals (Acoustix 1990 and Max Q 2007).
External Links