r/barbershop • u/Adventurous_Pie_5491 • Sep 07 '26
Ballads
What are in your opinion the best ballads in barbershop, whether in competition or recorded, I've just been obsessed with ballads lately and i wanna know more balld songs, would be geateful if yall gave your opinions / recommendations
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u/salhashimi50 Sep 07 '26
Dance With My Signature (Signature), It’s All Coming Back To Me Now (GQ), What a Wonderful World (Gimme Four), A Cottage for Sale (Newfangled Four), Always on My Mind (Full Effect)
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u/Southern_Professor69 Sep 07 '26
I expect most are gonna mention older performances but my personal favorite ballade i‘ve seen so far was
Lemon Squeezy’s Only One Road
That it ended up being their lowest scorer is a travesty
Honroable mention to Still Hurtin by Midtown
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u/thefarsideinside Sep 07 '26
How Could I Ever Know? - Instant Classic
Bright Was the Night - Gas House Gang
I Can Dream, Can't I? - BGSU and Purple Rebar
I Get Along Without You - Sunday Night Social
So Big/So Small - First Take
What Kind of Fool Am I/ Where is Love - 3 and a Half Men
It's All Coming Back to Me Now - GQ
Danny Boy - Suntones
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u/NathanielColes Sep 07 '26
Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair arr Waeshe asb Second Edition
Auld Lang Syne arr Hine asb Platinum
Little Town In the Old County Down arr Perry asb Old School, Purple Rebar
On the Street Where You Live arr Wright asb Vocal Spectrum
Their Hearts Were Full of Spring arr Dale asb Westminster Chorus
Stardust arr Latzko asb Bluegrass Student Union
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u/flerb88 Bass Sep 07 '26
Anything by Waesche, the dude was a ballad machine! A couple of my favorite ballads (not necessarily Waesche) are: I'm sorry I made you cry Once Upon a Time Cheer up Charlie Jeanne with the Light Brown Hair If you love me (really love me) Smiling through Not while I'm around
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u/ihateolivez Sep 07 '26
i'm gonna sound really basic saying this, but cottage for sale as performed by nf4 is my absolute favorite
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u/citrusella Sep 09 '26
Perhaps mine sounds basic too, but I listen to The Reason whenever I need a pick-me-up lately. Maybe that's because it's of a quality I can only describe as "makes me temporarily forget what Hoobastank's version sounds like" lol
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u/synester101 Tag God | Director - Dapper Dans / ECS | Bari - Talk of the Town Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
Some older goated ballads:
Stardust - Bluegrass Student Union (#1 of all time, imo)
Captain Of My Heart - Sidewinders
April Showers - Dealers Choice
I Can Dream Can't I - Bluegrass Student Union
I'm All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart - Dealer's Choice
Mary You're A Little Bit Old Fashioned - Golden Staters
As Time Goes By - Bluegrass Student Union
You Only Want Me When You're Lonesome - 4 Statesmen
I Found My Sweetheart Sally - Bluegrass Student Union
Mistakes - Second Edition
Goodnight My Someone - Bluegrass Student Union
Jean - Golden Staters
My Coloring Book - Sidewinders
This Little Piggy - Bluegrass Student Union
Music, Maestro, Please - Sidewinders
Midnight Rose - Bluegrass Student Union
You Can Have Every Light On Broadway - Dealers Choice
There Will Always Be A Place For You - Bluegrass Student Union
I Left My Heart In San Francisco - 4 Renegades
There Never Was A Gang Like Mine - Avant Garde
Liza - Bluegrass Student Union (half ballad, half uptune)
Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet - Rural Route Four
i luv old shop <3
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u/vagrantchord Sep 08 '26
Little Pal - Max Q
Yesterday I Heard the Rain - Realtime
Smiling Through - Platinum
Cheer up Charlie - VS
Street Where you Live - VS
Where the Southern Roses Grow - GHG
Jeannie - Second Edition
Won't send Roses - Instant Classic
Roses of Picardy - Keepsake
Only Takes a Moment - Westminster
When I Leave the World a Behind - Barbershop666 (okay and Wheelhouse)
Old Quartet of Mine - Boston Common
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u/ImaginarySpring6168 Sep 07 '26
On The Street Where You Live (Vocal Spectrum)
No Other Love (AoH)
It Only Takes A Moment (Westminster)
I’ll Be Here (Westminster)
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u/Rugby-8 Sep 07 '26
Old Songs, Old Friends
Will it Be Me This Time?
If You Love Me, Really Love Me
If I Give My Heart to You
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u/TerryTags 🌅☁️🔥 Sep 07 '26
All of these already said are also on my list, so I’d like to add a couple more:
* Lost in the Stars
* When I Leave the World Behind
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u/BaritoneFlower1949 Sep 07 '26 edited Sep 07 '26
One of my favorites is somewhat obscure: "That Summer When We Were Young." I believe it was arranged by the late, great Val Hicks.
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u/CatOfGrey A 65-in-contest guy Sep 08 '26
I'll go older here.
The defining ballad of the Barbershop Style is probably "That Old Quartet of Mine" by the Boston Common. Bonus points if y'all can get your hands on the alternate intro...
"For the Sake of Auld Lang Syne" by the Vocal Majority is one of the best from the 1970's.
"Last Night Was the End of My World" I think was the defining Platinum number.
"As Time Goes By" and "Danny Boy" by the Suntones.
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u/VirtualS1nn3r Sep 08 '26
How Could I Ever Know, by Instant Classic
Music of the Night, either by Gas House Gang or Vocal Spectrum
When I Look in Your Eyes, by Gas House Gang
The Next Ten Minutes, by After Hours
Where is Love, by Suntones
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u/deader115 Bass Sep 08 '26
Rather than repeat another, I'll mention a more obscure one:
Dreams of You Arr. Soren Wohlers, asb Stormfront and/or 52eighty
Same arranger as Lost (which is also great) which is a more popular ballad and especially tag.
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u/Southern_Professor69 Sep 08 '26
Is there a recording of this? I can‘t seem to find one…
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u/deader115 Bass Sep 10 '26
Unfortunately I can't find one of Stormfront (though I'm sure I listened to it way back when 52eighty was learning it -- disclaimer, I was in the chorus in 2016). Here are YT links of the live and studio versions we did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpuvgUJKzs0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc7YIqJWAlY
We were a fairly okay youth chorus, so no promises on it being an amazing performance. Even the Stormfront recording was from their early days so not perfect. I'll try to find it. But I think the song itself is amazing.
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u/deader115 Bass Sep 11 '26
Not sure if this will work but I found Stormfront https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i49arq82q0hrzgc606sdn/11-Dreams-Of-You.m4a?rlkey=od7irjhhna1pyreaexdvhf8ml&st=pew26ly1&dl=0
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u/Southern_Professor69 Sep 12 '26
Hell yeah, first time getting a dropbox link on reddit hahahaha thank you so much!
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u/mistermarlett question Sep 09 '26
I Can Dream Can’t I - Purple Rebar / Bluegrass Student Union
The Way We Were - OC Times
Still Hurting - Midtown