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3. Auditions are tough, and a feeder system is in place

Image: Disney

In addition to Marker, the other three original members of The Dapper Dans were Roger Axworthy, John Borneman, and Ted Nichols. Each vocalist played a specific role within the group. Axworthy was the lead, Borneman performed as the tenor, Marker provided baritone and Nichols delivered the bass. The originals anchored Disneyland’s “streetmosphere” performances on Main Street for many years.

When the company attempted to expand on the premise and plan replacements for the originals, they developed a system. In the early days, Disney leaned on a local educational facility named Chapman College. It enjoyed acclaim for its music arts training, and they became a sort of feeder system for would-be Dapper Dans. You can read some of recollections from former graduates/cast members at the college’s website. To this day, the school still has the occasional student earn one of the roles. The process is much more challenging, though.

In 2012, a Chapman College student won a role as a baritone. To get it, he had to best over 100 other performers, all of whom were acclaimed vocalists in their own right. He also needed to memorize multiple parts for more than 40 songs.  Over the course of two days, he sang individually as well as part of a foursome, working with three people he’d never met previously. It’s the sort of challenge that Disney cast members face regularly. A virtual stranger becomes their inescapable work partner.

When a musician earns a spot as one of The Dapper Dans, the work is only beginning. Training is a full-time job for 21 straight days. A singer must learn not just their singing sections but also those of their cohorts so that they’ll have a better understanding of how to harmonize properly. Generally, only one member of the barbershop quartet is new, so the onus is on that person to fit into an already-existing system. Finally, the performer also has to learn how to play the organ chimes, the unusual signature instrument of The Dapper Dans.

Becoming a part of Disney lore as a member of The Dapper Dans is a stressful and demanding endeavor. It’s all worth it the first time a singer brings smiles to the faces of strangers, though.

4. The group has to adapt their music

Image: Disney

While the library of Disney classic music approved for singing at the parks is largely finite, The Dapper Dans don’t always sing the same songs. During their nine performances a day, they default to park favorites such as When You Wish upon a Star and Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. Their staple, the one that they claim they have performed more than 50,000 times, is Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby.

Despite the consistency of their body of work, The Dapper Dans have to stay alert to what’s trending with Disney fans. One of the most popular songs from their 2000 album, Shave & A Haircut, is Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid. That film wasn’t even released until 1989, three decades after the act performed at Disneyland for the first time. It’s not even the timeliest recent example, though. During 2014, The Dapper Dans surprised theme park tourists with the occasional performance of Let It Go, the blockbuster song from Frozen. They even sang it on a plane to celebrate the introduction of new Southwest flights to Orlando.

The barbershop quartet also switches their music style during the fall each year. Most of the time, they sing classics celebrating Disney heroes. When Halloween approaches, their songs become more ghoulish in tone. Villainous anthems and macabre selections such as Grim Grinning Ghosts are par for the course in October. And their version of This Is Halloween is a triumph. If you're considering a visit to an American Disney park during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, The Dapper Dans (who change their name to 'The Cadaver Dans') alone are worth the price of admission.

5. Simpsons fans know The Dapper Dans by a different name

Image: Disney

Baby on board. Something something, Burt Ward. If these lyrics aren’t complete gibberish and actually mean something to you, you’re a Simpsons fan. What you probably don’t know is that the band Homer Simpson founded, the Be Sharps, needed a little help in harmonizing the actual singing parts of the show.

The voices you hear are not just cast members of The Simpsons. They’re also Dapper Dans from the early 1990s. Jim Campbell provided the singing voice for Seymour Skinner, Mike Economou for Apu, and Dan Jordan for Homer Simpson. Dapper Dan tenor Shelby Grimm had the trickiest job. He had to sing badly as Chief Wiggum and then like an angel as Barney Gumble. Universal Studios in Orlando and Hollywood might have Simpsons Land, but Disneyland has performers who have actually loaned their voices to a Simpsons episode.

 
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