The Colgate 13 is an all-male a capella group at Colgate University, sort of a cross between a frat, a choir, and a comedy troupe. It’s a little different from most a capella groups, in that in addition to learning new music every year, the group retains older music dating as far back as the 50s, resulting in a tightly knit alumni community (called Crust). A capella isn’t for everyone — but for me, the 13 made up some of the best times I had in college, and was a HUGE reason why I got into music so heavily after school, despite my molecular biology major. (And girls seemed to be keen to crooners on campus, which was a perk.)
The group’s been around for 65 years, and every 5 years the Crust gather for Reunion to sing and drink at Colgate University. This year’s 65th Reunion was an incredibly good time, involving BBQs, golf, singing, chugging, Wales Tales, and much else. On Saturday, each decade of members performed a 3-song set for the other alumni and their families, ending with Colgate’s alma mater, which every Crust sang (see photo above by Joel Currier). Man, what a sound. There were some unbelievable soloists that night, such as Clint from the 70s who roared out The Impossible Dream, and a bunch of other stars. Definitely an unbelievable weekend.
If you’re for some reason curious, you can check out some limited footage here, though the sound isn’t too good. For kicks, you can also check out a couple songs I sang while in the group including "I Need You", "No One Is To Blame" (by Howard Jones), or "Me and the Boys" (I’m the last of 4 soloists) on the album What It Is. Those were the days…
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