The very finest acapella vocal music for the St. Louis Metro Area. Would you like to talk to us?
If you would like to see our 60 plus SONG LIST,
click HERE!
If you would like to
see a CD of our Doo Wop Songs, click HERE! 
Listen
to us!
Click HERE to listen to an mp3 file of "Barbara
Ann" with Aaron Hardin as lead singer.
This song's site is http://www.geocities.com/rivertown sound/Barbara
Ann.mp3
It will take a while to download ,but it's the whole song.
Size is 1.8 MB.
If you would like
to see a CD of our Classic Barbershop Quartet Songs,
click HERE!
Released on December 16, 2006 at our chapter's Christmas Show:
"I Believe, a Collection of Inspirational
Songs.
Yep, it's true. Rivertown Sound has become official ambassadors for the new "Cool Oldies" station in St. Louis, KZQZ, 1430 AM. The new radio station has taken St. Louis to the airwaves like a storm. Following the format used by long gone favorite KXOK, it is all oldies, all the time. The era played is 1955 - 1970. The top pop songs, mostly classic Rock and Roll, are played constantly with little interruption. Of course they play the number one hits of the great performers like Elvis and the Beach Boys, but what is so nice is that they play lesser known "hits" by the great stars too. On Saturday mornings they play hits by local groups - including Rivertown Sound!
We met station manager, Bob Romanik, and his fellow DJ's at our annual Jefferson Barracks concert with Steve Davis and his Memories of Elvis Tribute. We sang "Only You" live on the radio before the concert and they were MC's for the evening. Over 3,000 people were in attendance that night in the fabulous outdoor amphitheater. On August 16, we once again met Bob Romanik and Tina Sanders, Queen of the Oldies DJ, at Blueberry Hill as we all celebrated Steve Davis' 20th year of performing there. (We have been with Steve for nine of those years.) That night, Bob asked Steve to be a guest DJ on the station and then asked us to appear for the station at various events around St. Louis. We got our own "Official" shirts with the KZQZ label and our names emblazoned on them. Very cool. We have even recorded a little jingles "KZQZ, COOL OLDIES!" which are ready to be used station breaks.
The station is so new that their web site is still being developed. They have the basics here: http://kzqz1430am.com/
It seems like a long time ago now. It was on Saturday, December
19, 1998, that the quartet gave it's first performance with the
Las Vegas style stage show of Steve Davis.
Steve's amazing bass - baritone voice recreates the songs of Elvis
Presley better than anyone we have ever seen. From the moving
ballads like 
"Love
Me Tender" to the rousing "Jailhouse Rock", he
electrifies the theater with his genuine stage charisma.
As
would become a regular feature, the quartet opened the evening
with our fifteen minute show of 1950 's Doo Wop songs. On the
last songs, "Barbara Ann", "I Get Around",
and "Hello, Mary Lou", the TCB band sometimes joins us with strong accompaniment.
Our current "Beach Boys Tribute" will probably
be our opening act for quite some time to come. Singing with the
TCB Band is always quite exciting because we usually sing without
instrumental accompaniment. Our act is a good transition to "Elvis"
coming on stage. We then provide backup for dozens of Steve Davis'
Elvis songs like "Teddy Bear", "Don't Be Cruel",
"Hound Dog", and the always dramatic "American
Trilogy".
During rehearsals and many performances we have quickly become friends with the extremely talented band members, their families, the fan club, and of course Steve himself. After the show we have the opportunity to spend time talking with the many fans of Steve Davis. We have learned that the some 600 members in the Steve Davis Fan Club were just as warm hearted and kind as Steve and the band. Needless to say, we look forward to performing with "Memories of Elvis" in the future. Check in here for the latest updates on the shows.
Rivertown Sound appeared on FOX 2 NEWS early in the morning at 8:45 am on Friday, July 1, 2005. We sang "Lion Sleeps Tonight" on the main part of the show and and later performed "Earth Angel" during the anniversary photos near the end of the broadcast. FOX 2 NEWS has been very supportive of the arts in St. Louis with many reports on events around town. As we sang the station ran details on the Alton Little Theater's "Memories of Elvis" benefit show with our friend Steve Davis. It was a wonderful experience.
We had met popular morning announcer,
Randi Naughton, when we were singing at a special event and she
asked us to come on her program. We were delighted and set up
the time. This was not the first
time we have sung on FOX 2 NEWS. In February
of 2003, Rivertown Sound sang on the Sunday morning news to help
explain our "Valentine Day" song program in which a
special love song is delivered by a quartet for romantic folks
around town. The money collected was used to promote vocal music
education in St. Louis.
Rivertown Sound Opens for Chuck Berry
at Blueberry Hill!
September 18, 2002 was perhaps our biggest show ever! Rivertown Sound performed our full 50 minute "Doo Wop Show" to warm up the crowd for legendary Rock and Roller, Chuck Berry. All of our previous performances at Blueberry Hill had been part of Steve Davis' "Memories of Elvis" but this time we were on our own. The great TCB Band offered to back us up, but the owner of Blueberry Hill, Joe Edwards, thought that just the voices alone coming through their excellent sound system would be a unique way to capture the sound of the 50 's. Among the 18 songs we performed that night, we introduced several new songs for us: "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys, "Happy Together" by the Turtles --and of course "Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino.
In 2008, Chuck Berry's granddaughter was at our annual show with Steve Davis at Blueberry Hill. She is a performer herself and has a successful career. She says that Grand Dad is doing fine and still performing at 81 years old.
Rivertown Sound Appears
on Numerous Barbershop Annual Shows
Doing Barbershop Society annual shows are always the most fun. There are some 27,000 men in the Barbershop Harmony Society centered around 800 individual chapters (choruses). We make special efforts to arrange our schedule to fit them in. We also give a special performing rate.
Here is a list - and perhaps a website link - of some of the
chapters for which we have performed:
Florissant Valley Chapter, St. Louis Suburban Chapter, Belleville Chapter; The Waterloo Illinois
Area Chapter; Little Egypt Barbershop Chorus, Carbondale, Il;
the Columbia
Missouri Chapter, and of course our own beloved chapter in
Hillsboro,MO The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus;
We have been honored to be part of these great chapter's annual shows. As guest quartet, the, Rivertown Sound will perform barbershop classics as well as our unique hits from the 1950's which few other quartets do. . "Barbershoppers" are always fun to talk to, sing with, and celebrate together our hobby.
"Meet Me In St. Louis", 1904
Yes, it's been just over 100 years since the great St. Louis World's Fair in Forest Park. The quartet has been asked to sing in many recreations this year including some in the actual Forest Park buildings dating back to the Fair era. (Missouri Historical Society and Lindell Pavilion) It is a wonderful experience to perform the great barbershop quartet songs from the "turn of the century" including the famous theme song written for the fair in 1904, "Meet Me In St. Louis".
If you have an event for Rivertown Sound to sing "Meet Me In St. Louis" (and many others!), send an email to dmonahan@visitationacademy.org.
Rivertown
Sound Lands In "The Top Ten" in the SPEBSQSA Central
States Contest, and "Third Place" in the St. Louis Area
Contest:
In April, 2002, Rivertown competed
in the "Pre-lim" contest in Columbia, Missouri. The
Judges liked our renditions of "Whatever Happened To The
Old Songs" and "Wait Til The Sun Shines, Nellie"
on Friday night and moved us into the Saturday night finals. After
singing with St. Louis #1 Chorus, the quartet sang "Old St.
Louis" and "Hello, Mary Lou". This "Top Ten"
is difficult for a performing quartet to achieve. In fact, no
quartet made up of active members of the St. Louis #1 Chapter
had ever made the top ten previously -- and St. Louis #1 Chapter
was founded in 1938!
In April, 2003, the quartet repeated the magic and came in ninth place at the pre-lims.
On a very hot August 24th, 2002, we competed with many of the active quartets in the St. Louis metro area at Belleville West High School, Illinois. Each year we are pleased to see old friends from the seven St. Louis area Barbershop Society chapters. In tough competition, we got the Bronze medal which made us all very pleased. With all of the rock and roll we have been singing lately, it is also important for us to continue to sing in the traditional "barbershop" style. Obviously, we are very pleased with these past couple year's successes and are looking forward to future contests.
In April of 2008, we traveled to Iowa City to participate in the convention. We scored the highest of our career, a 64.4. We are proud of our contest participation each year.
New Barbershop Singer Says "Hello" At Bill
and Heather's Home!
The romantic story of Heather and Bill
continues with a new addition to the family. Collin Everett
Dean entered the world on Friday, July 9, 2004. Rivertown
Sound tenor Bill Dean cannot decide if Collin Everett
will also be a tenor like himself, or sink to the depths of sound
like our bass Paul Ogle. Mother Heather Dean
is just happy that Collin mostly sleeps through the night without
testing his future singing voice too much. It has been reported
that before and after the birth, plenty of fine barbershop quartet
CD's (including Rivertown Sound, of course) were played in the
home to prepare the new born for his future singing career. Grandmothers
from both sides of the family are on hand to help during the first
weeks. All of us could not be happier!
***************************************************************
In case you have forgotten Heather and Bill's amazingly romantic
proposal, here's a link to the story:
Heather Says "Yes!"
In Front of 3000 People!
During mid-2001, Tom realized he no longer had the time to dedicate to the quartet and officially retired. Tom was a founding member of the quartet in 1985 when we all decided to create a quartet to perform in the way the old quartets of the turn of the century did: entertain with any type of songs that an audience wanted to hear. He was the one who contacted all of the theatrical agents in St. Louis and arranged the complex list of shows. During his hundreds of performances, he met so many people who always complimented his wonderful singing voice. He considers singing the National Anthem before the St. Louis Cardinals game not long after the Persian Gulf War as a highlight of his singing career. Later he performed at a Cardinal's benefit which featured Mark McGwire and the team.
(In 2008, Tom succumbed to the effects of Parkinson's disease. We all miss him dearly.)
Steve Davis' great TCB Band is also known as:
Pam Jo & The Duggin
Express 
Visit the band's own web site at
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/gjohns1234/dugginexpress.html?mtbrand=AOL_US
(The shows with Steve Davis' "Memories of Elvis" are indicated next to the date.)
2007 Rivertown Sound Schedule:
January 6, 2007: Pageant Theater, annual Elvis Birthday Celebration,
University City, MO (with Steve Davis)
Tickets available to the public (Ticketmaster) - call
early because this event sells out quickly.
February 4, 2007: Big 90th birthday party for fellow barbershopper, John Walsh. The Bevo Mill. St. Louis, MO. Private Event.
March 3, 2007: "Memories of Elvis" South
Broadway Athletic Club. 2301 South 7th Street, St. Louis, MO.
Tickets available to the public. Call 314-776-4833. (with
Steve Davis)
March 10, 2007: Performance for St. Rose of Lima Church's 100th Anniversary. 7:00pm. Open to the public.
March 17 2007: Special performance for Kelly's Mom and Dad. Webster Groves. Private event.
May 6, 2007: Parkway Baptist Church, Olive and Ross, Creve Couer, MO.
May 12, 2007: 90th Birthday party. Kirkwood Park. Private event.
May 12, 2007: Special Event with Archbishop Burke, VFW Hall, DeSoto, MO.
May 19, 2007: Washington University Alum Luncheon. 11:00-1:00 pm. Private event.
June 2, 2007: Jefferson Barracks Park, St. Louis, MO. 7:00 pm. Open to public. "Memories of Elvis"(with Steve Davis)
June 10, 2007: Marilyn and Dave's 35th Wedding Anniversary, St. Louis University. Private event.
July 3, 2007: Tesson Heights Retirement Home, with The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus 7:00 - 7:45 pm. Open to the public. Free.
July 19, 2007: Hillsboro MO Fair Grounds, MO (with Steve Davis), 8:00 pm. Tickets available to the public.
August 16, 2007: Blueberry Hill, University City, MO (with Steve Davis), Tickets
available to the public - call early because this event sells
out quickly.
August 24, 2007: Wedding reception at the Sheridan City Center, St. Louis, MO. Private event.
August 25, 2007: St.Louis Area Barbershop Festival, St. Charles First Baptist Church. 3:00 pm. Open to the public.
October 6, 2007: Anniversary Party, Holiday Inn, Six Flags, Eureka, MO. Private Event.
October 20, 2007: Hillsboro, MO political organization annual dinner. With The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Private Event
November 10, 2007: Waterloo Barbershop Chorus, Annual Show "Tribute to the 1950's". With International Champions "Vocal Spectrum" Quartet. 8:00 pm. Open to the public.
December 1, 2007: Annual Christmas Show. With The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Shows at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Jefferson Community College Open to public.
December 31, 2007: ,Memories
of Elvis, New Year's Eve Special, Holiday Inn, Alton,
Illinois. 9:00pm - 12:30am, Call 618-462-1220 for details. (with Steve Davis) Open to the public.
2008 Rivertown Sound Schedule:
January 5, 2008: Pageant Theater, annual Elvis Birthday Celebration,
University City, MO (with Steve Davis)
Tickets available to the public (Ticketmaster) - call
early because this event sells out quickly.
January 24, 2008: Concord Lions Club, Holiday Inn, Butler Hill Road, St. Louis, MO. Private event.
March 8, 2008: "Memories of Elvis" at Desmet High School.
April 5, 2008: "Memories of Elvis" South Broadway Athletic Club. 2301 South 7th Street, St. Louis, MO. Tickets available to the public. Call 314-776-4833. (with Steve Davis)
April 18, 2008: Annual Convention of the Barbershop Harmony Society Central States District. Iowa City. Open to the public.
May 2, 2008: Rotary Club
of Eastern Missouri. With The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Rotary members
only.
May 9, 2008: Desoto Missouri Chamber of Commerce. With The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Chamber members only.
May 17, 2008: Washington University Alum Luncheon. 11:00-1:00 pm. Private event.
June 14, 2008: Herculaneum Flag Day Show. With The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Open to the public.
June 28, 2008: Jefferson Barracks Park, St. Louis, MO. 7:00
pm. Open to public. "Memories of Elvis"(with
Steve Davis)
July 1, 2008: Tesson Heights Retirement Home, with The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus 7:00 - 7:45 pm. Open to the public. Free.
July 14, 2008: 70th birthday party. Private event.
August 16, 2008: Blueberry Hill, University City, MO (with Steve Davis), Tickets available to the public - call early because this event sells out quickly.
August 23, 2008: St. Louis Area Barbershop Harmony Festival. St. Charles Missouri Baptist Church. Open to the public.
August 23, 2008: U.S. Naval Inttelligence Code Breakers Annual Reunion. Sheridan Westport Hotel. Private event. (If we told you any more, we'd have to shoot you! --Only kidding.)
September 13, 2008: U.S.S. Scaggett Reunion. With The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Private event.
September 20, 2008: Maggie O'Brien's "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day Celebration!" 8:00 pm. Free.
November 1, 2008: "Memories of Elvis"(with Steve Davis) House Springs, MO Tickets available to public. 8:00 pm.
November 16, 2008: Recording session at KZQZ, 1430 Radio station, Belleville, Illinois. Perform "Earth Angel" and "Sh-Boom" on Radio at 8:30 pm.
November 22, 2008: "Memories
of Elvis"(with Steve Davis)
Arnold, MO Tickets available to public. 8:00 pm.
December 6, 2008: Christmas Show for US Navy Submarine Veterans. Westport Plaze. Private event.
December 13, 2008: Annual Christmas Show. With The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Show at 4:00 pm. Jefferson Community College Open to public.
December 31, 2008: ,Memories of Elvis, New Year's Eve Special, Holiday Inn, Alton, Illinois. 9:00pm - 12:30am, (with Steve Davis) Open to the public.
2009 Rivertown Sound Schedule:
January 10, 2009: Pageant Theater, annual Elvis Birthday Celebration, University City, MO (with Steve Davis) Tickets available to the public (Ticketmaster) - call early because this event sells out quickly.
February 14, 2009: Annual Valentine song delivery. On Saturday this year. Available to all lovers! Contact our chorus St. Louis headquarters to sign up: The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus
April 4, 2009: "Memories of Elvis" South Broadway Athletic Club. 2301 South 7th Street, St. Louis, MO. Tickets available to the public. Call 314-776-4833. (with Steve Davis)
April 24 and 25, 2009: Annual Convention of the Barbershop Harmony Society Central States District. Springfield, Missour. Open to the public.
May 16, 2009: Washington University Alum Luncheon. 11:00-1:00 pm. Private event.
June 27, 2009: Jefferson Barracks Park, St. Louis, MO. 7:00
pm. Open to public. "Memories of Elvis"(with
Steve Davis)
June 30, 2009: Tesson Heights Retirement Home, Patriotic Show, with The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus 7:00 - 7:45 pm. Open to the public. Free.
August 15, 2009: Blueberry Hill, University City, MO (with Steve Davis), Tickets available to the public - call early because this event sells out quickly.
August 22, 2009: (Date not confirmed yet) St. Louis Area Barbershop Harmony Festival. St. Charles Missouri Baptist Church. Open to the public.
December 12, 2009: Annual Christmas Show. With The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Show at 4:00 pm. Jefferson Community College Open to public.
Vern Abel, bass
We take pride in our ability to sing a wide variety of songs. Our scores of tunes range from the turn - of - the - century Barbershop Classics, through the Big Band era, the "Doo-Wop 1950's", and then to a touch of the "modern".
Click HERE to read how we plan our performances, and to see another picture.
Links to other barbershop and music sites on the
Web:
The United States Men's Barbershop Quartet
Society (formerly known as "SPEBSQSA")
The
United States Women's Barbershop Quartet Society (The Sweet
Adelines)
The
St. Louis #1 Chapter "Spirit of St. Louis Chorus"
The St. Charles
"Ambassadors of Harmony Chorus" International Barbershop
Champion chorus!
Steve Davis "Memories of Elvis":
the Midwest's best tribute to Elvis Presley!
Steve Davis' TCB Band (also known as Pam
Jo and the Duggin Express)
St.
Louis Area Council of Barbershop Chapters
This Page has been visited 
times since March 4, 2001.
If you have any questions, or comments, about barbershop music, drop Dan a note at the E-Mail Address below. Also feel free to contact any of the Barbershop Quartet societies listed above. They love to hear from people about their music. Perhaps there is a men or women's barbershop chorus in your area you could visit!
© 2009 dmonahan@visitationacademy.org