For Grand Rapids barbershop quartet, sweet sounds have staying power

on December 21, 2012 at 10:54 AM, updated December 21, 2012 at 10:58 AM

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Almost anyone climbing the stairs to the second floor of the Arnie's restaurant on West Leonard Street on a recent day might have been a little stunned to hear the words "One more kiss, my darling."

It wasn't a couple escaping the bakery below.

It was a foursome celebrating the gift of song.

They're called "The Extension Chords," and what makes them special goes beyond the fact they're an accomplished barbershop quartet.

What's arguably more impressive is their staying power.

Myke Lucas is 77, "the baby" of the group. Cal Verduin is 79. And Sid Helder and Don Lucas (Myke's older brother) just turned 80.

Except for Myke -- who sings bass and joined the group a little later -- they've been crooning together since they were 15 or 16 and all students at Grand Rapids Christian High School.

Do the math, and that's more than six decades of belting out everything from sacred hymns to more rollicking stuff the likes of "Does Your Mother Know You're Out, Cecilia?"

Several weeks ago, the Chords were honored on the 60th anniversary of their winning the Michigan District Championship under the auspices of the SPEBSQSM, or (take a breath here), Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in Michigan.

"Our first paying job was for $5," recalls Helder, the group's tenor, emphasizing that the $5 bill was split four ways.

Since then, the Chords have performed thousands of times, often for free or on behalf of a charity.

And while they confess to missing a step since their heyday -- "The older we get, the better we used to sound," jokes lead singer Don Lucas -- they were hitting on all cylinders the morning I visited.

And I'm not the only one who thought so.

"It's beautiful," Shawn Taylor says of the music, as she serves customers downstairs at the popular West Side eatery. "We enjoy it when they come in and sing."

Which they do most Wednesday mornings, showing up around 9 for victuals, and then a medley of songs upstairs, which is largely vacant that time of day.

The Chords got their name early on, while practicing for a contest in a corner of a room so dark that they couldn't read the music. Someone found an extension cord, and it wasn't long before they turned it into a play on words.

As high school students enrolled at a Christian school, they first focused on religious music, and as their popularity grew, they branched out to perform popular songs of the day and of yesteryear, but always in good taste.

Archway Compressed.jpg In this courtesy photo, the Extension Chords perform as part of an Archway Cookie promotion  

A big night out meant singing to a school or church circa 1952, then driving to the Butter Wagon near the old Pantlind Hotel (now the Amway Grand Plaza) for burgers and Cokes.

Sometimes, especially during the Christmas holidays, remembers baritone Verduin, "We'd have three jobs in a night, and we'd maybe go from the Morton House to the Pantlind to the Rowe Hotel."

Their fame grew when they signed a contract to sing for Archway Cookies, recording a ditty for radio and TV that went something like this: "Dear old girl, your cookies just don't taste the same…Dear old girl, it's Archway sets my heart aflame…"

They've been through thick and thin together -- sharing tragedies and triumphs and all the while uniting through song. Says the elder Lucas, "We love and trust each other."

Even their respective outside lives don't stray far from one another's. Helder made his mark in the printing business, while the other three specialized in the automotive industry. All four are part of a group of 16 men claiming membership in an Upper Peninsula sporting camp called "Harmony Grits," so named because "we all sing and eat together," says the younger Lucas.

Their singing has sustained them, as well as those for whom they sing. Their audiences have included a couple who asked them to perform at their wedding, then summoned them 50 years later to sing at their golden wedding anniversary.

The Chords have also sung for a gentleman's 80th birthday, and just days later, were asked to return and share their gifts at his funeral.

Enduring as a barbershop quartet against the backdrop of a half-century that has also given us rock and grunge and techno has sometimes been a challenge. Especially now, when it seems that fewer young adults are receiving formal singing lessons via their schools and churches.

"We have altogether agonized over that," says Verduin. "They're just not teaching a cappella singing in four parts like they used to."

But if Arnie's patrons are any indication, they appreciate what they're hearing, and go out of their way to discover the source of the sweet music sung in accompaniment to their sweet rolls.

"People will stop and ask me if they're hearing the radio," says Shawn the server.

"I tell 'em, 'Nope, that's upstairs.'"

The Extension Chords have recorded three compact discs. For information on how to get yours, contact Don Lucas at, or call him at 269-650-1876.