The Founders

Chris Parker joined the University of Illinois Varsity Men’s Glee Club as a graduate student in the fall of 1968, the same year William Olson began...

The Beginning

The name of the octet, The Other Guys, was taken from the name of a VMGC trio called The Other Three (string bass, guitars -- very Kingston Trio), which had completed...

Early Repertoire

That first year, 1968-69, the repertoire of The Other Guys consisted almost entirely of arrangements pirated from The Friars, in particular, those...

Keeping It Going

Johnson had an early hand in keeping the O.G. going as a permanent institution. Following his graduation in 1970, he stayed on at Illinois for a master’s degree and remained a member of the Glee Club, although...

"The Morrow Plots Song"

Semester break during Bruce Johnson’s grad school year, 1970-71, found him visiting his friend, Lawrence Eyre, in New Haven, where Eyre had lingered at Yale for a year of divinity...

And Another Tale, About "Saloon"

As promised, more about “Saloon.” In the late 1960’s, Kams was a low-rent tavern on Daniel Street in Champaign which had been around for more than 30 years, serving beer to anyone tall enough to reach the bar with his quarter...

Growing Fame and Fortune

Others can suggest many milestones and landmarks in the history of The Other Guys in the years since the founding, including...