After its first a cappella group, The Tycoons, disbanded ca. 1970-71, HBS had to wait almost 20 years before two new a cappella groups, Heard on the Street (HOTS) and the She-E-Os, were founded in the late 1980s: HOTS in 1987 by Bill Gaden (MBA ’89) and the She-E-Os in 1989 by Julie Yao Cooper (MBA ’91).

A member of HOTS in 1990 provided a snapshot of the group in its early days. There were 16 members, and they sang in four-part harmony. Their signature song was “House of Blue Lights.” Also in their repertory were such 1960s hits as “Chain Gang,” “Sh-Boom Sh-Boom,” “Duke of Earl,” the Drifters’ “Under the Boardwalk” and “Up on the Roof,” and even Run DMC’s “Walk This Way.” They recorded a casette tape. And a member of the She-E-Os of 2008 listed some of their repertory that year: “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan, “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & the Pips, Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is in the Heart,” Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” and “How Do You Measure a Year” from the musical Rent, which was sung at the HBS Centennial reception.

Both of the new groups are usually larger than the Tycoons were, with 10-16 members who may include PhD students and the partners of MBA students. Although the current groups do not perform at the Boston Pops concerts as the Tycoons had, their music is publicized by means of a CD recording every year. According to Laurent de Vitton de Peyruis (MBA 2003K), recording that annual CD was the highlight of his HOTS experience. In a Harbus article of September 30, 2002, he relates how recording the 40 minutes of the 12 songs on Disruptive Harmonies required 27 hours of painstaking work recording each singer on a separate track, rerecording when necessary, balancing the blend of voices, and adding ambiance. The whole process plus reproducing 2,500 CDs cost $6,000. The finished product sold at the Coop for $10, half of that going to the Red Cross.

The current groups add several new elements to their performances that were absent in the Tycoons’: skits and choreography. For example, in the “Winter Wonderland” joint concert in December 2005, the She-E-Os’ skit discussed the most impressive aspect of a person’s management style, deciding it lay in the manager’s kiss, which segued to “It’s in His Kiss” (the Shoop Shoop Song) . The HOTS part of the concert included a version of the Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back” with “dance moves that were entertaining enough to make all forget about finals and recruiting.”

HOTS performances are well-documented on YouTube, ranging from a performance of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” at Burden Hall in the winter of 1989 or the spring of 1990 to a recent performance at the HBS Talent Show on April 12, 2011, but She-E-O videos on YouTube are rare. I find only a concert in the Class of 1959 Chapel on April 14, 2009 with HOTS.

Post a Comment