April 11 is Barbershop Quartet Day, celebrated today because on this date in 1938, the Barbershop Harmony Society was founded at a meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

But barbershop music — a style of arranging in close, four-part, a cappella harmony — goes back further than the 1930s. Lynn Abbott, a professor of jazz at Tulane University in New Orleans, has traced the roots of barbershop to the 1880s, when singers in Black communities in the South would gather to harmonize on folk songs and spirituals, continuing long-established African musical traditions and practices. Many of the early practitioners of barbershop would go on to become the founders of jazz. Meanwhile, as the 20th century began, barbershop music increased in popularity and reach, and European musical styles entered the mix.

Whereas barbershop is a specific type of arrangement, certainly elements of it — in particular, vocal harmonization — makes its way into all kinds of sung music, including lots of music we hear on The Current.

So for today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs featuring close vocal harmonies would you like to hear?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

Have an idea for a Coffee Break topic? Submit your idea for a future theme and browse past Coffee Breaks in our archive.

Songs Played
The Chi-Lites – Have You Seen Her
The Beach Boys – Surfer Girl
The B-52s – Roam
Steely Dan – Peg
Fleet Foxes – Can I Believe You
ABBA – Take A Chance On Me
Low – Over The Ocean