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It began in 1951...
The Brown Jabberwocks, an all-male a cappella group, were rehearsing for an upcoming talent show at the University. They were a bunch of extremely determined individuals. Quite intent on winning first place, they embarked on a crazy rehearsal schedule. They sang day in and day out, from morning until night, 24/7 (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration, but they rehearsed a lot)!
Well, each of the Jabberwocks had a girlfriend, and as you can probably imagine, these lovely ladies became quite annoyed and frustrated because their boyfriends were more concerned with rehearsing than they were with spending time with them. The girlfriends commiserated with each other, and decided to take matters into their own hands. They formed their own a cappella group called The Chattertocks (a spoof on "The Jabberwocks," of course), rehearsed their own song for the talent show, and ended up winning FIRST PLACE!!!
Over the years, the group has continued to grow and evolve with the changing times. The Chattertocks started recording early on with a number of vinyl albums, some of which included guitar and percussion back-up, both common for a cappella groups at the time. And at one point, the Chattertocks even sported a whole back-up band complete with male members! As Anna Fromer Seidman '79 recalls, "The band kept the group alive during a time when a cappella was dying. People were not attending our concerts. The band and the music we could perform gave us new life, brought crowds to our concerts at The Gate and other local sites. We still performed many of our a cappella numbers, but showed our versatility in being able to broaden our repertoire."
Today, the Chattertocks are currently one of the most recognized female a cappella groups in the country. They have recorded several CDs in the last couple of years and have competed successfully in the National Championship of College A Cappella since the competition's inception in 1996. In fact, in 1998 the Chattertocks made it to the NCCA finals, which were held in New York's famous Carnegie Hall! In more recent years, the Chattertocks have maintained their rich tradition of excellence, taking home "Best Album" and "Best Song" in the 2004 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, and have gone on tour all across the eastern seaboard, from Kentucky to Hanover, NH.
Although our repertoire has certainly changed since the '50s, we continue to perform crowd-pleasers. Our current selections range from the reggae jams of TOK's "Footprints," to the classic doo-wop sound of Fontella Bass' "Rescue Me" and eventhe techno beats of Haddaway's "What Is Love!" The Tocks' musicality, spirit, and love of singing is apparent every time they perform, each song is guaranteed to knock your socks off!
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