Serenade your loved one on Valentine's Day

If you'd like to call someone sweetheart this Valentine's Day but don't have the voice to serenade them yourself, opportunity is singing.

The Chorus of the Comstock is offering "Singing Valentines," a special gift from the harmonizing voices of a barbershop quartet. For $25, a loved one will receive a rose, card, song and a chocolate.

Four gentlemen, dressed dashingly in black slacks, white long-sleeved shirts, bow ties and plaid vests glittering with gold, are prepared to deliver love songs to the community.

Be it in a home, office or even a restaurant, Tom Hammill, Gil Graham, Bob Wise and Chuck Abercrombie are prepared to light up someone's life.

"We like to sing, sound good and have fun," said Graham, who sings melody.

Abercrombie has the baritone line, Wise is tenor and Hammill fills in at bass. The a cappella songs are upbeat, bring wide smiles, pull at the heartstrings and will even cause a tear to form in the eye of even the most manly man.

"The hardest thing to do is sing a love song to a man," Abercrombie said. "It's tough. And to the elderly ladies, they get so emotional."

Graham said the quartet goes anywhere locally to deliver a Singing Valentine.

"We go to homes, big offices. And what's really funny is, once we start singing, heads start popping up all over the place," Graham said. "It's so much fun, especially when you see the expression on people's faces."

Abercrombie said a person can take the level of performing to any degree they want and still have fun with it. They're always looking for more to join them, he said.

"A lot of people say they can't sing," Graham said. "But there are different levels, different harmonies they can sing. It doesn't have to be lead."

Graham has been singing about 30 years; Abercrombie since 1966; Wise has experience on his side, he's been singing since 1959; and Hammill is the new kid on the block having been in for five years.

"We do this mostly for fun," Graham said.

Hammill said the group also sings for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions.

"It doesn't require a music degree to sing barbershop, but it does take some level of hearing accuracy," Abercrombie said.

Those interested in sitting in on a practice session can join the Society for Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, corner of Bath and Mountain streets, or afterward at 10 p.m. at B'sghetti's Restaurant, 318 N. Carson St.

The fee charged for Valentine's Day performances goes to support the singing society.

Breakout

What: Singing Valentines

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday

Cost: $25

Call: 885-8663