The Colby Eight is 50 years old this fall, but nothing back in 1947 indicated that it would cast so long a shadow. Based on their first "tour" one might have guessed they wouldn't make it to Year Two, let alone live to celebrate a silver anniversary.
      The Eight began with modest intentions. Shortly after classes commenced for the 1947-48 school year, Ed Waller '49 and Neil "Dick" Leonard '50 gathered a group of guys around an abandoned, tinny piano in Roberts Hall and belted out "Talk About Jerusalem Morning," just to see how they sounded. Even then--the group seldom has confined itself with a strict mathematical interpretation--the Eight were Nine. The other charter members were Phil Lawrence '50, Connie White '49, Robert Armitage '50, George Bowers '50, Tom Samuelson '49, Hal Wormuth '50 and Clifford "Bump" Bean '51. They used a dusty copy of The Yale Song Book to develop their repertoire and within a month had their first engagement, a performance during the intermission of the College Homecoming dance. Their reception was good enough to warrant bookings at College assemblies and fraternity parties and at civic and church functions in Waterville. But the real test came in mid-February of 1948, when they scored their first out-of-town gig in the upstate village of Dover-Foxcroft.
      On the day of the performance, a snowstorm hit central Maine. Driving on slippery, unfamiliar roads, the group hit detours, took wrong turns and generally lost their way. When they finally showed up, nearly two hours past the scheduled time of their performance, the bedraggled singers learned that the promoter had waited an hour before sending his patrons home.
      Despite the worsening road conditions and the lateness of the hour, the students wanted to fulfill their promise to sing. They persuaded the promoter to contact some of the ticket holders and encourage them to gather as many of their friends as possible, and for the next couple of hours the original members of the Colby Eight went from house to house and gave private concerts. The Eight has been winning fans ever since.
      Having survived a tenuous infancy, the group became well established within the first few years of its inception. In 1950, the Eight was featured on radio programs and extended its tour itinerary to Boston and Hartford. By 1954 the group was arranging its own songs and developing a distinctive sound. They appeared on a Boston television station and played at New York City high schools. Their reputation grew.
      Columbia Records recorded an Eight album in 1957, and later that year the group performed the first of many engagements in Bermuda, their first international venue.
      Forty years hence, not all that much has changed. The Eight now produces its albums on compact disc rather than vinyl LPs, and the tour itineraries vary, but the group retains essentially the spirit and mission of its founders. A testament to its enduring appeal among participants was the turnout at the group's 50th anniversary celebration during Homecoming Weekend. Forty-eight alumni--more than a third of the total--returned for the party, which included a reunion concert.
      "Some of my fondest memories of Colby came from my involvement with the Eight," said Thornton "Don" Merriam '51, a physician in Bangor, Maine, who still performs in a barbershop quartet. When Merriam showed up for the group's reunion, it was the first time he had seen his fellow singers since he graduated from Colby, he says.
      The celebration was organized by Colby Eight senior Alex Howard and also featured After Eight, a Boston-based a cappella group of Eight alumni. Four members of the original Eight performed, and the finale showcased all past and present members in an ensemble performance.
      After all these years, they still make beautiful music together.