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The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory
Gotham
June 2008
On Sale: May 29, 2008
275 pages ISBN: 159240376X EAN: 9781592403769 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Sports
Pitch Perfect is a behind-the-scenes look at the bizarre,
often inspiring world of collegiate a cappella groups. The first collegiate a cappella group, the Yale
Whiffenpoofs, was founded by Cole Porter back in 1909. But
what had been largely an Ivy League phenomenon has, in the
past fifteen years, exploded. And it’s not what you think.
There are now more than 1,200 a cappella groups at colleges
across the country. The very best of these collegiate
groups square off in the annual International Championship
of Collegiate A Cappella—a showdown marked by wrenching
close calls and exhilarating triumphs. And, really, where
else can you hear Michael Jackson’s “Bad” in four-part
harmony? In Pitch Perfect, GQ editor Mickey Rapkin follows a season
in a cappella through all its twists and turns, covering
the breathtaking displays of vocal talent, the groupies
(yes, a cappella singers have groupies), the rockstar
partying (and run-ins with the law), and all the bitter
rivalries. Along the way are encounters with boldfaced
names such as President George W. Bush, Prince, David
Letterman, Barack Obama, Barbra Streisand, Hillary Clinton,
Marisa Tomei, Amanda Bynes, Nick Lachey, Merv Griffin, Jim
Carrey, Microsoft’s Paul Allen, John Legend, and Jessica
Biel. At the heart of the narrative are three a cappella groups
whose interactions are anything but harmonious: the
historic Tufts Beelzebubs, founded more than forty years
ago with 40,000 albums sold since—and struggling to record
a new album that lives up to the hype; Divisi of the
University of Oregon, a relatively new, all-female group
attempting to overcome a loss in the 2005 championship; and
the University of Virginia Hullabahoos, the so-called bad
boys of collegiate a cappella, who will attempt to compete
on a higher level this year while retaining their casual
soul. Bringing a lively new twist to America’s fascination with
talent showdowns and peerless performers, Pitch Perfect is
sure to strike a chord with readers.
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