In the Beginning…There Was the Men’s
Room, is the second book from Sam Wellington former singer
with the Nashville harmony group The
Four Guys. Sam’s highly successful first book “Who Wants
to Be a Country Music Star” made the Top 100 charts in major
bookshops.
A group of high school kids originally from
the Steubenville/Toronto area of Ohio enjoyed singing
doo-wop and a cappella
named themselves The Jets in the mid 50’s. They enjoyed
rehearsing in the men’s room of the Ft. Steuben Hotel due
to the acoustic reverberation, hence the book title! After
winning a Tri-State area talent contest the group disbanded
as they moved from high school to college and military service.
After two stints in the US Navy, two of the
Jets, Sam and
his friend Brent Burkett formed a new group calling themselves
The Four Guys.
From the 1960's onwards
The Four Guys
were a popular harmony singing group who drew appeal
with a unique sound by blending easy country, western and
pop music that drew much broader audiences.
The Four Guys regularly toured with artists such as
Charlie Pride,
Hank
Williams Jr, Ferlin Husky,
Faron Young,
Marty Robbins and
Jimmy Dean and later on the cruise ships. In 1967 they became
members of the Grand Ole Opry and also appeared on shows
hosted by Bob Hope,
Willie Nelson,
Dinah Shore and Dolly
Parton. Hall Of Fame D.J. Charlie Douglas later tagged them
The "Fabulous" Four Guys. After 32 years as a
member of the Grand Ole Opry and singing with the
Guys,
Sam and Brent retired in 1999 and
The Fabulous Four Guys
ended as a single unit.
In the Beginning…There Was the Men’s
Room, chronicles the trials and tribulations of four young
men seeking their fame and fortune in the country music
business. Very often the lack of fortune was inevitable.
We read of the naivety of the early years when these four
somewhat gullible star-struck
young men are both INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY tied when
they sign legal contracts without having them checked by
their own legal representative, only to see them come back
and haunt them at a later date. We read of the ups and downs
and the hard slog of building a career together.
We face the egos, difficulties and lessons
learnt when several people have to work daily in the close
proximity of a single unit. See how the sparks fly as personalities
clash and individual members look at the greater picture
of pursuing their own individual career opportunities. Suffer
the headaches of having to find a replacement when one member
both upsets the apple-cart and has to be replaced or in
some cases decides to move on to greener fields, (sometimes
finding them
so green after all). Endure the thrill of the major record
companies offering to sign The Four Guys, only to see it
turn to despair as the hand of fate snatches away that converted
prize.
On the brighter side of the coin; experience
the camaraderie and see how friends and big named stars
of the day are so generous and unselfish with their support
help and input. Follow the changes of the group’s line-up
and their move up the career ladder and on to opening their
own highly successful theatre restaurant The Harmony House
in Nashville. Filled with a host of wonderful photos, there
is a short history of the Barber Shop Quartet singing and
a nod to the earlier harmony bands such as
The Mills Brothers
and The Ink Spots.
As you read “In
the Beginning…There Was the Men’s Room,” you’ll not
want to put it down as it races ahead at an exciting pace
throughout. There is frustration, desperation and great
lifetime friendships to be found in this fascinating and
revealing insight into the turbulent days of The
Four Guys career. A book not to be missed!!!
In the Beginning…There Was the Men’s
Room can be purchased at good book stores incuding
AuthorHouse
Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble.com, Books-A-Million.com, Target.com and
Borders.com
Four
Guys website
Graham Lees July 2008 |