FROM RUSSELL LEE POST - RUSTY - Popo of the Whiffenpoofs - 1958

Might you be interested in the story of the Whiffs of 1958 and our connection to the Yale Glee Club.

1. The Yale Whiffenpoofs are the oldest collegiate a cappella group in the United States and our connection to the Yale Glee Club is strong and goes back many decades.
2. Wherever the Glee club sang, so did the Whiffenpoofs of 1958, both as members of the Glee Club and separately as the Whiffs. I don’t believe any other Whiff group has done that in the last 51 years. When we were selected, most of our group were already singing with the Glee Club. A couple of us were not (Pitchpipe and Popo). We decided that those who weren’t yet members of the Glee Club would “try out” and as a result all 13 of us became members of both the Glee Club and the Whiffs. Fenno was most appreciative and it worked out extremely well for everyone.
3. Although we have passed out 50th reunion, and although we are all over 70, we are also all alive and we 13 get together as often as we can to sing, to laugh and to perform for others. We will be in New Haven this October, singing at the Whiff centennial and singing separately as the Whiffs of 1958. We would be happy to meet with you and perform for your production company if you are interested.
4. “Strong and lasting connections” – literally from the day of our selection in the spring of 1957, the Whiffs of 1958, were and always have been an extraordinarily close group. No Cliques. No arrogant soloists. No ruffled feathers. Ever. We were close from day one and now realize how unusual that can be. As we approached our 25th reunion, I thought we had lost one of our group, but just a few days before the 25th, the missing one showed up on the streets of Philadelphia, came to the reunion, and as a result, all 13 of us were able to sing together for the first time since graduation day. The emotional aspect of that was overwhelming and both the members of our group and the thousands who came to Woolsey Hall to hear us sing, sang with us and cried. Now we “meet again” on almost an annual basis.
5. The Whiffenpoofs go back 100 years, and I believe of all those groups, we are certainly the only one with all of its members still alive and singing together who graduated more than 50 years ago. Dare I say this, but we may be the only Whiff group of any year who still are all alive and get together and sing.
6. The connection within our group is as tight as it can be and the connection between our group of Whiffs and the Yale Glee Club is just as strong.
7. For many years, several members of our Whiffenpoof group have continued to sing with the Yale Glee Club on their tours around the world.