After shaking hands on a quartet name proposed by Mike, The Untouchables registered with the Society in June 1988,
then did absolutely nothing for the balance of the year (Mike and Brett were busy wrapping up loose ends in
North Carolina). January, 1989 finally arrived and the Untouchables met at John’s to sing beside an open
fireplace (not the song, “Beside An Open Fireplace”-- we read music by candle and fire light due to a
power failure! The Untouchables were comprised of John, Kevin, and Mike from the retired
group Front Page and Dixie District champion bass Brett Pryor, whom Mike met while in college.
Almost immediately we prepared music to be coached by Fred King. Fred helped with every phase of
singing from vocal production to balance and blend. For extra measure, Fred arranged a number of songs for
us including the Beatles tune “When I’m Sixty-Four”. What fun!
Harry Williamson and Geri Geis were kind enough to join our coaching team to prepare us for a District medal.
We made nineteen appearances in 1989 including a Chapter Show in Spartanburg, S.C.
Our Show and Glo package consisted of the following songs:
| SHOW | GLO |
|---|
It’s A Most Unusual Day
Peg o’My Heart
Oh My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose
Java Jive
16 Tons
I Wish All My Children Were Babies Again
Oh! Suzanna, Dust Off That Old Piana
|
Talk of the Town
I Had a Dream
My Romance (Hi-Lo’s arr. with Kevin’s Tag)
I’m Sittin’ On Top of the World
Portrait of My Love Medley
|
1990
January 6th was our first coaching session with two masters at once: Fred King and Don Clause.
Don would suggest a refinement in phrasing and delivery and Fred would re-arrange the passage on the spot!
It is so much fun to work hard at making music. The 1990 Prelims were held in New York and what a show!
The Untouchables sang a ridiculously silly Spike Jones tune “She Broke My Heart In Three Places” and
inserted “Westchester County, NY” into the tag and got laughs and applause! After the smoke cleared,
we won the sound category but were slightly edged in the other categories by Broadway.
The International that year was in San Francisco; we didn’t make it past the quarter-finals but the experience helped us grow.
The Untouchables “starred” in a TV advertising spot for a furniture outlet and a radio ad for Arbys Restaurant
that aired in Georgia. Remember cassettes? The group practically recorded a “live” album, completing it in one session.
October’s Mid-Atlantic District contest was held in Ocean City, MD and with the songs “When You Hair Has Turned To Silver”,
“Corabell”, “I’m Sorry Sally”, and “Oh Suzannah”, the group won the contest.
In all, The Untouchables appeared 22 times in 1990 including the Harmony Holiday at Split Rock, PA, Fred’s Retirement Party, and DELASUSQUEHUDMAC.
1991
The Prelims were held in Salisbury, MD and our District qualified Broadway, The Untouchables, Arcade, Risky Business, East Side Kids, and
Doubletake.
The Untouchables sang a chapter show in Scranton, PA on April 27th. It would be the last show for the original foursome.
Mike Sotiriou passed away suddenly in early May due to a tragic electrocution suffered at Chi Chi’s restaurant
where he worked as a manager. We pray for him and his family.
We asked Fred to substitute for Mike as baritone. Fred knew all the arrangements and being our mentor we knew it would
help the healing process. The International office gave us a waiver to allow us to sing at the July competition in Louisville.
In the fall of 1991, Jack Pinto became our permanent bari. Jack brought a breath of fresh air, ideas, songs, and
plenty of society contacts to assist our growth. Too bad he didn’t have a sense of humor (!).
1992
After the Prelim qualification, the quartet worked with Joe Connelly and Dave Harrington.
It was quite an experience working with these two gold medal leads. The Untouchables placed 19th in New Orleans.
Later that summer, the quartet disbanded. A combination of conflicting personal commitments,
and perhaps a sense that we had achieved all we could contributed to the decision.
Al Mazzoni joined Kevin, Jack, and John to form a new group. John offered the name BSQ and it was
quickly adopted. Shortly afterward, family pressures caused John to bow out and Rob Seay sang tenor.
With that, the Untouchables retired.
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