Sincere Lyrics – Music Man, The

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

• A tender barbershop feature from Act I of The Music Man - sung by the School Board, embodied on Broadway by the Buffalo Bills quartet.
• Recorded for Capitol’s original cast album, released January 20, 1958; produced by Dick Jones and conducted by Herbert Greene.
• Reappears in the 1962 film and the 2003 TV adaptation, keeping the same close-harmony conceit.
• Length on many cast editions sits around 1:39, a compact scene change that sounds like a moonlit pledge.

Creation History

Meredith Willson built a plot device into a harmony texture: four fussy officials become a quartet the instant Harold Hill flatters their pitch. The switch flips the town from suspicion to softness. On record it is pure a cappella - no baton clicks, no vamp - just four parts in tight lock, written to ring on the word “love.” In the film, the Buffalo Bills reprise the gag: Hill distracts the board with vowels and suddenly they are barbershoppers in full bloom.

Stylistically it is classic TTBB writing - lead melody hugged by tenor and baritone with a grounding bass - the kind of voicing that aims for expanded overtones. As stated by the Barbershop Harmony Society, the idiom prizes consonant four-part chords, dominant sevenths, and the audible “ring” when tuning locks just right. According to grammy.com histories and standard discographies, the cast album carrying this cut became one of Broadway’s most decorated recordings, which helped spread this number far beyond the Majestic Theatre.

Highlights

1. Instant character flip: civic scolds turn into crooners - Hill’s best con is harmony.
2. Economy of lyric: a handful of rhymes around “sincere” and “goodbye” tell a full courtship story.
3. Classic ring spots: “sin in sincere” and the final “we’re in love” stack intervals that bloom.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Hill meets the School Board, who want credentials. He deftly points out their hidden talent and - before they know it - they are harmonizing a sweet nocturne of courtly clichés. The town’s watchdogs become ambassadors of romance, and Hill walks away unchecked. A small, smiling heist.

Song Meaning

The piece is a thesis on persuasion: harmony creates trust. By moving four rivals into one chord, Willson shows that community softens once people breathe together. The lyric’s antique turns - “fair in farewell,” “star shines above” - are the syrup that sells the con. Musically, the slow swing and locked vowels advertise restraint and decency, an antidote to “Trouble.”

Genre and drive

Barbershop ballad - unaccompanied, four parts, homorhythmic lines with swipes and held chords. The engine is blend, not beat, with cadences shaped for resonance more than showy counterpoint.

Cultural touchpoint

Barbershop sits at the crossroads of vaudeville, church socials, and street-corner harmony. Here it signals civic virtue - the board stops bickering when they aim for the same overtone.

Key Facts

• Artist: Original Broadway Cast of The Music Man, Buffalo Bills, Dick Jones
• Featured: Buffalo Bills - School Board Quartet
• Composer: Meredith Willson
• Producer: Dick Jones
• Conductor: Herbert Greene
• Release Date: January 20, 1958
• Genre: Showtune, barbershop ballad
• Instruments: A cappella voices (TTBB)
• Label: Capitol Records
• Mood: tender, courtly, coaxing
• Length: ~1:39
• Track #: 7
• Language: English
• Album: The Music Man - Original Broadway Cast
• Music style: close-harmony, ring-focused voicing with dominant-seventh color
• Poetic meter: regular iambs with end rhyme and echo responses

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Meredith Willson - wrote - book, music, and lyrics for The Music Man.
• Buffalo Bills - portrayed - the School Board quartet on Broadway and in the 1962 film.
• Capitol Records - released - the 1958 original cast album including “Sincere.”
• Morton DaCosta - directed - the 1962 film that retains the quartet feature.
• Hugh Jackman revival - recorded - “Sincere” on the 2022 Broadway cast album.
• Barbershop Harmony Society - curates - TTBB arrangements of the number for quartets and choruses.

Questions and Answers

Who sings it on the Broadway album?

The Buffalo Bills - the barbershop champions cast as River City’s School Board.

How is it staged in the 1962 film?

Hill diverts the Board with intervals, and they slide into four-part harmony - same joke, bigger grin.

Is this pure a cappella?

Yes. No pit underscoring on the cast track - it is voices only, tuned to ring.

What versions exist beyond Broadway?

London cast 1961, the 1962 film soundtrack, the 2003 TV movie, and the 2022 Broadway revival all include it.

Typical tempo and feel?

Ballad pace, roughly mid 80s BPM on common releases - breathy and unhurried.

Why is barbershop perfect for this moment?

Because the style requires listening and blend - exactly the social trick Hill needs to make skeptics cooperate.

Any hallmark chords to feature?

Favor the dominant-seventh stacks on “sincere” and the final cadence - they are built to bloom.

Awards and Chart Positions

These refer to the original cast album that includes “Sincere.” According to Billboard’s long-run tallies and standard references, the album held No. 1 for 12 weeks and stayed on the chart for 245 weeks; it won Best Original Cast Album at the first Grammy ceremony and was later added to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

How to Sing Sincere

Style brief: TTBB barbershop ballad. Lead owns the tune; tenor floats above in light mix; baritone weaves the missing chord tones; bass anchors with minimal vibrato. Aim for a vowel match that lets chords “ring.”

• Tempo: roughly mid 80s BPM on common recordings.
• Meter: slow 4 with rubato at cadences.
• Vocal layout: baritone and tenor stay inside the staff; bass sits low but speech-like; lead carries text forward.
• Range & tessitura: Lead ~B2–E4, Tenor ~D4–B4, Bari ~A2–E4, Bass ~F2–C4, adjusted to edition.
• Edition notes: widely published TTBB arrangements are available from Barbershop Harmony Society and retailers.

1. Tempo first: set a quiet two-feel in rehearsal. Let phrases breathe but avoid drifts between parts.
2. Diction: unify the target vowels on “sincere,” “goodbye,” “love.” Keep consonants late and together.
3. Breath plan: stagger breaths on long sustains. No one drops on a ring chord.
4. Flow: sing through line endings - no clipped finals unless marked. Let cadences swell, then settle.
5. Accents: lean into swipes - tiny shifts in inner parts that freshen the chord without breaking legato.
6. Ensemble image: lift sternums, soften knees, keep heads still on long holds - posture helps tuning.
7. Mic craft: one condenser at center height works live - step in for tags, out for sustained stacks.
8. Pitfalls: over-vibrato, mismatched diphthongs, and scoops on entrances. Keep lines pure.

Additional Info

The Buffalo Bills were already royalty in barbershop circles before they joined The Music Man, and their Broadway-to-film continuity helped canonize the number for quartets everywhere. London’s 1961 cast album slots “Sincere” with its own local quartet, and the 2022 Broadway revival kept the number intact with new voices. Apple’s soundtrack listings and cast pages show a neat lineage: from Preston’s era to Hugh Jackman’s, the School Board still sings the town into civility.

Sources: Wikipedia, Apple Music, Billboard, The Recording Academy, Associated Press, Barbershop Harmony Society, J. W. Pepper, Discogs, CastAlbums.org, IMDb, Spotify, YouTube.