The Hi-Lo's

Though they frequently drew the ire of jazz critics and die-hards who resented their popularity and light-hearted attitude, The Hi-Lo's constitute an important link in the evolution of group vocal music. They peaked in the late 1950s, recording for Columbia and scoring some chart success in the waning pre-rock era. These albums found the quartet's applying their innovative vocal harmonies to jazz and pop standards, usually backed by big band arrangements. It may strike younger listeners as dated or even corny, but the group's strength lay in its ability to sneak unusual tonal tricks and quirky, oddball arrangements into a pop-friendly framework (a quality not lost on fervent admirer Beach Boy Brian Wilson). Despite not having benefited from a retro-reissue craze or much in the way of critical revisionism, the music of the Hi-Lo's remains ripe for discovery by vocal music fans -- especially those with a sense of humor.