T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING — Marshalltown Men’s Chorus Director Larry Pfantz, front, directs his singers during the 66th annual Spring concert held Saturday night at the Marshalltown Performing Arts Center.

For the third event running, the American Bandstand was back on the air in the Marshalltown Performing Arts Center. The Marshalltown Men’s Chorus – led for the 37th time by director Larry Pfantz – was in form Saturday night, performing songs from the 1950s, 60s and 70s for “American Bandstand (Again!)” in the 66th annual Spring concert for the group. Opening the set with “Bandstand Boogie” by Barry Manilow and then heading back in time to the days of Dick Clark’s famous music show led by emcee Kyle Martin, the group of male singers went on a journey through 20 years of music history.

The theme has had a lasting positive response for the past three years, in part because of the songs chosen and in part because of the memories evoked for the audience, Pfantz said.

“We’ve kind of hit on an era when Dick Clark and ‘American Bandstand’ was on TV,” Pfantz said. “It’s something that a lot of adults are familiar with, and even some kids. Some of those old songs kind of come back and kids are familiar with them.”

Some of the early highlights from the first portion of the show included a performance of Marty Robbins’ “A White Sport Coat,” and a medley of songs from famous country rock duo The Everly Brothers, who spent most of their childhood in Shenandoah and Waterloo.

At the end of the first hour of programming, a four-song set from the chorus’s acapella group mTunes included hits like “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen and the classic song made famous by The Drifters, “Under the Boardwalk”.

Kicking off the second half of the show with “Tequila,” the group set sail for the 1960s with tie-dyed t-shirts and more classic songs – including a solo from Russ Yarrow on a version of The Beatles’ 1967 song “When I’m Sixty-Four” and a performance of Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me.” Pfantz and the chorus also got the audience involved late on, encouraging them to sing the chorus to “Old Time Rock N’ Roll” by Bob Seger as the show neared its end. Special guest Josh Grimes performed a piano medley of songs for the group of stage guests present throughout the show as members of the “Bandstand” audience.

This third edition of the American Bandstand theme proved a touch difficult to find the right songs for the show, Pfantz said, due to the make-up of the chorus and of songs from the time. He added that this would likely be the final installment of the series.

“Some music that’s voiced particularly for just men isn’t as prolific as songs voiced for just women or for a mixed chorus, so it’s a little more difficult to find,” Pfantz said. “So I spend some time searching for things that would fit us, and I kind of know what we have for voicing.

“By doing this three times now, we’ve kind of used all the things we have in the file from that era.”

Having been involved with the group for a long time and orchestrating another successful show, Pfantz said a number of factors keep him going in the role despite the weekly time commitment and always-ongoing search for additional members to the group. This is in addition to his role as the director of the Elim Lutheran Church’s community chorus.

“It has a lot to do with the guys that are in the group,” Pfantz said. “We’re just ordinary joes that like to sing. Yes, many of them are in their church choirs, but to do other kind of music there isn’t an outlet for that. It gives us that camaraderie, and it’s more than just the signing. We become good friends.”

Pfantz made sure to mention the chorus is always open to new members and no auditions are required to join.

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Contact Noah Rohlfing at 641-753-6611 or nrohlfing@timesrepublican.com.