The Foursome

Biography

The Foursome Quartet was a male vocal quartet that was originally formed in 1926 by two young men while they were at Washington State College in Pullman, Washington, USA, Marshall Smith (first tenor) and Dwight Snyder (baritone), along with Harry Isaacs (basso) and Kearney Walton (second tenor). In 1926 they had a permanent engagement to appear over the NBC Pacific Network. In that early period they made their first appearance at the Los Angeles Orpheum in February, 1926, with Henry Santry's band. That was followed by a six week engagement on the Pacific coast Orpheum vaudeville circuit and then twenty-two weeks with the Publix Corporation at the Los Angeles Metropolitan theater and the San Francisco Granada. After two years of touring in eastern states and making recordings for Columbia Records, Isaacs and Walton left in 1928. Walton went on to become a bandleader. They were replaced by Jimmy Davis and Raymond Johnson (basso). When Davis left after a short time a friend of Johnson's from Oregon State College, Del Porter (second tenor), became the fourth member. Raymond Johnson became the group's vocal and instrumental arranger. Before heading east, They are known for appearing with Clara Bow and sang a show-stopping number, Bidin' My Time in the George and Ira Gershwin play, Girl Crazy. They became nationally known in 1931 with a recording of a new song, Walkin' My Baby Back Home. For two years in the mid-thirties they were a part of Cole Porter's Broadway hit, Anything Goes. During that run they had their own radio show on WABC. They made many recordings for Decca in the late 1930's. They are remembered for accompanying the Smith Ballew-Glenn Miller Band. After returning to Hollywood they backed up such stars as Eleanor Powell, Buddy Ebsen, Dick Powell, and Bing Crosby, and became semi-regulars on Kraft Music Hall. They were known for Angel Cake (1931), Born to Dance (1936) and Go West, Young Lady (1941). At the beginning of World War II the group broke up. Following the war Del Porter reorganized the group as Sweet Potato Tooters with Johnson and Snyder.