Our History
Legend has it that the Mendicants were founded in 1963 by a transfer student from Yale by the name of Hank Adams. Actually that part's not really legend. He definitely transferred here and he definitely started the group with 5 other guys. What happened next, however, has been obscured by the mists of time. They say that the group originally rehearsed only one song that they performed for the first time one lunch in Branner Hall, then all-female housing. As they sang, the women in the dining hall began to weep and soon there wasn't a dry eye in the house. When they finished, there was a tumultuous explosion of applause as co-ed undergrads literally threw themselves at the stunned Mendicants, clamoring for more. The terrified members, having only rehearsed one song, beat a hasty retreat through a conveniently nearby window and immediately returned to rehearsing. The rest, as they say, is history.
Over the years, we've experimented with several different looks and musical styles. We started off in tuxes and suits, but then in the 70s and 80s we went through a phase we don't like to talk about. It involved shorts, sandals, and a couple guitars. We call them our awkward growing years. Ever since, we've been running around with "heaping spoonfuls of boyish charm" (Stanford Daily, 2002) winning the hearts of women and men alike.
Over the years, we've experimented with several different looks and musical styles. We started off in tuxes and suits, but then in the 70s and 80s we went through a phase we don't like to talk about. It involved shorts, sandals, and a couple guitars. We call them our awkward growing years. Ever since, we've been running around with "heaping spoonfuls of boyish charm" (Stanford Daily, 2002) winning the hearts of women and men alike.
