Legacy

The arbors

The Arbors, a quartet consisting of brothers Tom and Scott Herrick and twins Ed and Fred Farran, enjoyed a long, successful career in performance and in writing and performing commercial jingles--and they got their start in the Men’s Glee Club!

Scott, Ed, and Fred met during their time as Clubbers and Friars in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Fellow Clubbers Pete Patterson and Jack Ransom both sang with the group at separate times during their college days. After graduation, Scott’s younger brother Tom joined the group, setting in place the lineup which would form the Arbors for 40 years. Scott and Tom sang B2 and B1 respectively, and Ed and Fred covered the high notes with Ed at T2 and Fred at T1. The two sets of brothers quickly developed their trademark sound--a sound which would perhaps become even more known than their group’s name. After all four of them were drafted and completed their 6 months of active duty, the group traveled to New York and began searching for opportunities in 1963. 

Once in New York, the group bounced around talent agencies, eventually getting the opportunity to go to Chicago to work on Mal Bellairs’s “Music Wagon,” a popular radio show on the CBS station in Chicago at the time. After their time with “Music Wagon” came to an end, the group began appearing regularly with Arthur Godfrey, a widely popular radio and television personality, on his radio show. The Arbors also frequently opened for radio and TV personality Dinah Shore, who was a big fan of the group. Over their career, the Arbors additionally performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Dick Clark’s show, and their own show, and they worked with Phyllis Diller, Victor Borge, Alan King, Red Buttons, Roger Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Newhart, Bob Hope, Dick Cavett, and Roberta Flack, among others. 

The group then went into the recording business, signing with Columbia Records after the success of “A Symphony For Susan,” their first song to reach the charts. The Arbors released 3 albums during the 5 years in which they were signed to Columbia, and they again charted with “Graduation Day” and covers of “I Can’t Quit Her” and “The Letter,” which would go on to be their highest charting single and reach the top 20. Of the members in the group, Ed was the one who wrote music, and several of the songs he wrote can be found on their albums. 

The Arbors also experienced tremendous success in the commercial business while also still performing and staying in the performance industry. The group wrote and recorded jingles for companies like United Airlines, Texaco, McDonald’s, Sears, KFC, Green Giant, and plenty more across the nation. In 2003, after Ed Farran’s passing, the group called it a career. The Arbors were not just four singers; they were four distinct personalities, each providing an essential contribution to the group’s wonderful sound. During their 40 years as a group, the Arbors always loved performing the most, and they travelled around the world and shared their wonderful sound on the radio, on television (they even had their own show, produced by Clubber Bob Chitester!), in clubs, in hotels, and for conventions. Everywhere they went, The Arbors were big favorites, and they were always invited to perform again. They even returned to the Hill stage on several occasions, as the group never forgot their roots. The Arbors collaborated with other groups whose membership includes Club alumni, such as Christmas Spirit, a Chicago-area group which sang carols for 25 years, and the Grunyons.

If you would like to hear the Arbors’ music, you can find many of their recordings on YouTube at this link, on streaming services, or in our Digital Music Archive in the Miscellaneous section!