Saturday, November 25, 7 p.m.
Ohnward Fine Arts Center, 1215 East Platt Street, Maquoketa IA
On November 25, the sounds of the season will blend with the sounds of 1950s pop when Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Art Center presents The Four Preps Holiday Show – a yuletide-themed night with the vocal ensemble fronted by Bruce Belland, performing an incredible 61 years after his Four Preps debut.
Originally composed of lead vocalist Belland, high tenor Marv Ingram, baritone Glen Larson, and bass Ed Cobb, the quartet was signed to Capitol Records in 1956 when its singers were still students at Hollywood High School, as a Capitol executive had seen them perform at their high-school talent show. The Four Preps' debut album Dreamy Eyes, released later that year, became the first of the group's many hits, with 13 of the quartet's songs landing on Billboard's pop charts between 1956 and 1964. Among their biggest successes were the songs “Big Man,” which rose to the number-three spot, and “26 Miles (Santa Catalina),” which peaked at number-two, and the group also became beloved TV fixtures for the four seasons they spent backing teen idol Rickie Nelson on Ozzie & Harriet.
Although the Four Preps officially disbanded in 1969, the vocal ensemble re-formed in the mid-1980s with Belland and Cobb joined by David Somerville and Jim Pike, and a surge of renewed awareness and interest came with their 2004 performance in the award-winning PBS special Magic Moments: The Best of 50s Pop. Currently, Belland tours nationally alongside fellow Four Preps Bob Duncan, Michael Redman, and Skip Taylor, and their holiday show will feature the vocalists performing hits from the group's repertoire along with holiday classics including “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “The First Noel,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” and “Winter Wonderland.”
Tickets to the 7 p.m. Four Preps Holiday Show are $25-30, and reservations can be made by calling (563)652-9815 or visiting OhnwardFineArtsCenter.com.
