The group began in 1949 as an offshoot of the traditional Men's
Glee Club when four members decided to start their own independent singing group. In 1956, Brown Music Department chair Arlan Coolidge, frustrated that the group was getting bookings that would otherwise have gone to the Glee Club, referred to the Jabberwocks as "a misguided small group of students whose product is a type of vaudeville."[1]
The original Jabberwocks, a double quartet, "wore grey flannel suits, white button-down oxford shirts, striped ties and white buck shoes, and travelled to out-of-town concerts in a 1928
Rolls-Royce."[2]
The Chattertocks, a female a cappella group at the
Pembroke women's college began as a parody of the Jabberwocks in 1952.[3]
The Jabberwocks temporarily disappeared in 1975, was resurrected in 1980, and survived a brief period in the mid-1980s when some singers tried to take the group professional. Over the decades the group's repertoire has ranged from 1950s
doo-wop, to
Motown to contemporary
pop.[1]
For most of their history, the Jabberwocks were an all-male ensemble, with a brief
co-ed period after Pembroke was merged into Brown in 1971. As of the fall of 2019, the group began accepting all genders and voices.[4]
Awards
1993, Freedom '90 (song), Runner up, Best Male Collegiate Song[5]
2006, International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella regional quarterfinals, second place[6]
2010, International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella's Northeast semifinals, second place[7]
2010, Breaking & Entering (album) nominated for the 2010 Contemporary A cappella Recording Awards in three categories.[8]
2017, "Taking the Fall" (album) nominated for the 2017 Contemporary A cappella Recording Awards in three categories.[9]
The group began in 1949 as an offshoot of the traditional Men's
Glee Club when four members decided to start their own independent singing group. In 1956, Brown Music Department chair Arlan Coolidge, frustrated that the group was getting bookings that would otherwise have gone to the Glee Club, referred to the Jabberwocks as "a misguided small group of students whose product is a type of vaudeville."[1]
The original Jabberwocks, a double quartet, "wore grey flannel suits, white button-down oxford shirts, striped ties and white buck shoes, and travelled to out-of-town concerts in a 1928
Rolls-Royce."[2]
The Chattertocks, a female a cappella group at the
Pembroke women's college began as a parody of the Jabberwocks in 1952.[3]
The Jabberwocks temporarily disappeared in 1975, was resurrected in 1980, and survived a brief period in the mid-1980s when some singers tried to take the group professional. Over the decades the group's repertoire has ranged from 1950s
doo-wop, to
Motown to contemporary
pop.[1]
For most of their history, the Jabberwocks were an all-male ensemble, with a brief
co-ed period after Pembroke was merged into Brown in 1971. As of the fall of 2019, the group began accepting all genders and voices.[4]
Awards
1993, Freedom '90 (song), Runner up, Best Male Collegiate Song[5]
2006, International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella regional quarterfinals, second place[6]
2010, International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella's Northeast semifinals, second place[7]
2010, Breaking & Entering (album) nominated for the 2010 Contemporary A cappella Recording Awards in three categories.[8]
2017, "Taking the Fall" (album) nominated for the 2017 Contemporary A cappella Recording Awards in three categories.[9]