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Beelzebubs
The Beelzebubs' 2009 album, Play The Game
Background information
Also known as	The Bubs
Origin	Medford, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	A Cappella
Years active	1962–present
Labels	Collegiate
Website	Official Site

The Beelzebubs are an all-male a cappella group from Tufts University who perform a mix of pop, rock, R&B, and other types of music while spreading their motto of "Fun through Song." They have toured in Mexico, Turkey, Greece, Hawaii, and most recently spent their 2008 Winter Tour in Hong Kong and Japan. They competed in NBC's The Sing-Off in December 2009 and achieved a second-place finish.

History

The Beelzebubs, frequently referred to as "The Bubs", were originally named “Jumbo's Disciples” after the Tufts University mascot, but quickly shed this name and adopted the name “The Beelzebubs,” a reference from the epic poem Paradise Lost by John Milton. They were first seen at the Tufts annual Winter Sing in December 1962, and by May 1964 they had already performed with the Boston Pops and recorded their first album ^[1].

As the Bubs’ reputation grew, so did their repertoire. During the 1970’s, they began adding popular music to the barbershop, doo-wop, gospel, and jazz standards so commonly associated with a cappella. The group flourished due to a successful and active alumni association, which helped them stay strong in a time when many other student organizations at Tufts suffered. Each year the Bubs' performance schedule has grown; at this point, the group has over 80 gigs per year. High demand for the group's talent has lead to a substantial increase in the number of performances and subsequent increase in travel. The Bubs have now toured in destinations such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Florida, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, England, France, Greece, Turkey, and The Netherlands. They’ve performed for many high-profile personalities such as Presidents Clinton and Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Gov. Bill Richardson. In 1999 the group made an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman and performed at Fenway Park for the crowd at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

In the past 20 years the Bubs have been pioneers in contemporary collegiate a cappella introducing numerous musical and production advancements to the genre. The 1991 album Foster St. abandoned a more traditional methodology and introduced a new style of arranging to capture the driving force of contemporary popular music - especially with the addition of vocal percussion (all but unheard of in collegiate a cappella to that point). Over a decade later, the Bubs continue to innovate and their 2003 album Code Red wowed audiences with its sophisticated level of production and left listeners openly wondering if the recording truly consisted only of voices (which it did). Two years later the Bubs's CD Shedding swept the CARA awards for collegiate male a cappella winning best album, best soloist, best arrangement, and best song. Currently, the Bubs have recorded 26 studio and 3 live albums, and have won numerous awards for performance and recording.

The Sing-Off

The Beelzebubs were one of eight vocal groups featured on the NBC television program The Sing-Off, which aired in December 2009. The Bubs were selected amongst hundreds of groups to compete. Having survived cuts by the judges in each of the first three shows, the Beelzebubs appeared in the finals on December 21, 2009, finishing second to Nota from Puerto Rico. The competition's prize was $100,000 and a recording contract with Epic Records/Sony Music, and was determined by viewer voting.

According to the New York Times ^[2]

The Beelzebubs ... used the superstar-medley round to spring a surprise. Their choice of superstars was The Who, but they didn’t begin their number with any of the obvious rockers from that group’s repertory; instead they served up a slow, haunting “Behind Blue Eyes.”

Performances & Results

The Bubs Foundation

The Beelzebubs are also proud of their continuing ability to give back to the community through the Bubs Foundation. The Bubs Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 to "awaken in young people a passion for expression and learning through music"^[3]. The organization consists of alumni and friends of the Beelzebubs dedicated to the Bubs Foundation mission to raise money for the music programs of Boston-area public schools. So far the Foundation has donated over $50,000 in grants to 60 area music programs. ^[4]

Recent and upcoming events

In late April 2009, the Bubs released their newest CD, entitled Play The Game, to much critical acclaim. The Bubs previous release (April 27, 2007) was their highly acclaimed and award-winning twenty-fifth studio album, titled Pandaemonium. Tracks from this album have been selected for BOCA (Best of College A Cappella), Sing 4^[5], and Voices Only 2008. The album also received a perfect score from the Recorded A cappella Review Board.^[6] Like Shedding before it, Pandaemonium also swept the four all-male categories of the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award, including Best Album, Best Song, Best Solo and Best Arrangement^[7].

The Bubs were recently featured on the MTV show My Super Sweet 16.^[8]

With over 250 members around the world, The Beelzebubs celebrated their 45-year anniversary in May, 2008 with a weekend celebration.

Notable members

• Peter Gallagher,^[9][10] actor.
• Adam Gardner^[11], musician (Guster).
• Jean Mayer, honorary member, hunger activist and former President of Tufts University.
• Deke Sharon^[12], a cappella enthusiast and founder of the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America

Awards

Albums

• Brothers in Song (1964)
• Sing On (1965)
• Signin' In (1966)
• Something Old, Something New (1968)
• The White Album (1972)
• The Blue Album (1974)
• Ballou Hall (1977)
• Pub (1979)
• Therapy (1981)
• Score (1983)
• Clue (1985)
• Lost (1987)
• Fourteen (1989)
• BWI I (1990)
• Foster Street (1991)
• BWI II (1992)
• Vince (1993)
• House (1994)
• Gilding (1995)
• Drift (1996)
• Id (1997)
• Jade (1998)
• Infinity (1999)
• Next (2001)
• Punch (2002)
• Code Red (2003)
• Shedding (2005)
• Pandaemonium (2007)
• Play The Game (2009)

References

External links

• Beelzebubs Official Website
• BOCA