History
The Colgate Thirteen, one of the longest-running male collegiate a cappella groups in the United States, is now in its eighty-third year. Watch the 2017 documentary above!
The “Thirteen” began on the eve of World War II when Jerry Scott, Hank Pierce, and Jan Spear started singing informally at the Colgate Inn. by Christmas 1941, seven students were consistently finding solace singing amidst worries over the coming war.
In 1942, the group moved to Colgate’s Student Union and expanded to thirteen members, reflecting the thirteen fraternities at Colgate. Upon this, the group officially named themselves the Thirteen, and began performing at the University and annually in front of 6,000+ attendees at high schools across Buffalo, NY.
After only five months, the university accelerated it’s schedule to make students available for the draft, and by the summer of 1942, seven of the early graduating members left for the war. Despite efforts to expand membership upon this loss, the group was forced to disband as the war intensified.
After the war, founding members Tom Farrell and Bob Breithaupt returned to Colgate, determined to revive the group. With support from school president Everett Needham Case announcing auditions in the Colgate Maroon, the group reformed and was soon performing at women’s colleges such as Wells and Skidmore.
By the late 1940’s, under leader Cliff Heaslip, the group’s repertoire grew to over 40 songs, and they were showcased at a formal gala in New York’s Waldorf Astoria.
In the early 1950’s, leader Jim Horsey and the group embarked on their first major trip to California, performing for celebrities like Doris Day, Danny Thomas, Tony Curtis, Bob Hope, and Gordon MacRae. In 1956, the group performed on Jackie Gleason’s television show.
In 1957 under the new leadership of Doug Wilson and support of student alumnus Lloyd Huntley, the group expanded their reach through unprecedented show bookings the group could only dream of
In the 1960’s, the group traveled extensively with their first dedicated vehicle, acquired with the help of George Carlson, the father of a deceased member. The first vehicle was coined the “grunt” due to it “groaning” when scaling hills, and the name has stuck through the following generations of vehicles. The grunt has taken the form of a stretch Chevrolet Suburbam, a limousine Oldsmobile Toronado, and the current Mercedes sprinter Van.
The politically complex 1970s saw the Thirteen struggling to maintain its original spirit, yet it persevered. In 1977, the group held its first official reunion, a tradition that continues every five years on the Colgate University campus, connecting the multiple generations of members and keeping the old stories and myths alive.
Each decade brought new highlights; the 1980s saw month-long tours across the nation, and the 1990’s held the group’s first tour across Europe. Over the years, the group has performed at prestigious venues such as Radio City Music Hall, and other major locations and events such as Good Morning America, Disneyland and Disney World, and the Vatican.
The group has had an extensive set of performances at major sporting events, including the Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XIII, the Olympics, and many US sporting events such as the New York Yankees, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Boston Red Sox, and Green Bay Packers.
In its eighty-year history, the Thirteen has recorded thirty-two studio albums, including the newest, “Window Shopping”, available on all streaming platforms in August of 2024. Their repertoire spans many genres, from standards like “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra and “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darwin, to newer hits like “Fix You” by Coldplay and “Colder Weather” by Zac Brown Band.
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