Yale Whiffenpoofs

By Deane Barker • •

The Yale Whiffenpoofs Logo

This is a legendary a capella singing group at Yale University. The group is comprised of 14 seniors, both men and women. It’s claimed to be the oldest a capella group in the country.

They refer to themselves as “The Yale Whiffenpoofs of XXXX” (insert year of graduation).

In addition to George H.W. Bush’s father (see below), famous members have included (eventually) legendary jazz singer Cole Porter and Office Space actor Ron Livingston (The Yale Whiffenpoofs of 1989; front row, second from left)

They normally close every performance with their signature theme song: The Whiffenpoof Song

Why I Looked It Up

I was reading the expose The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty and it was mentioned quite a bit in an early chapter with no explanation. Prescott Bush (George H.W. Bush’s father) was a member.

I watched one of their concerts. (Honestly, it was just okay.)

Interestingly, I only saw 13 of them in the videos I watched. And one of them was always dressed weirdly (for example, in one video, one of them was dressed as Mr. Incredible).

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