The Princeton Footnotes was founded in 1959, when a small group of undergraduates within the University Glee Club broke away to establish the third a cappella singing group on campus. Starting out as entertainment for Glee Club parties, the Footnotes quickly gained popularity and began to make appearances at Glee Club performances, University eating clubs, and colleges along the East Coast. This year, the Footnotes are celebrating their fiftieth year of bringing fresh all male a cappella to audiences all over the world.

Today, the Footnotes are known nation-wide and throughout Europe. Nationally and internationally recognised as a top quality performance group, the group has always been innovators in cappella. For instance, the Footnotes ranked third in the National Collegiate A Cappella Championship Semi Final and were honored with a track on BOCA - the Best of Collegiate A Cappella

In recent years, the Footnotes have sung at Yankee Stadium, the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, the American Ambassador's Residence in London, a private Christmas party for David Rockefellor, a special radio show on WERS Boston, and the Presidential Inaugural Ball for former Pres. Bush Snr. in Washington, D.C. The Footnotes have taken their music across the United States, from Maine to California, and have ventured abroad to exotic destinations like Italy, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Mexico, Great Britain, the Far East and St. Lucia in the Caribbean.

The current group, although greatly expanded in number and repertoire compared to the founding Footnotes, still upholds the basic tenets that have allowed the Footnotes to maintain their vitality throughout the past three decades. The 1959 Footnotes were built on the foundation of performing for the sheer enjoyment of singing. As the back cover of our first album says, "The Princeton Footnotes breed infectious enthusiasm." This spirit is reflected not only in the applause and smiles of audiences around the world, but also in the camaraderie shared by all Footnotes, past and present.

Since 1959, the Princeton Footnotes have entertained audiences throughout the world. Our music ranges from contemporary pop to jazz, ballads, spiritual and barbershop. Our current repertoire is full of songs that display our wide range of musical tastes--every Footnote song was arranged by a member of the group and passed down through generations of Footnotes.

We are proud of our diverse repertoire because it gives us enough flexibility to put on a good show for any kind of audience. We've performed for George Bush at the White House, Lee Iacocca at Chrysler (who gave us a free minivan), the folks at Baskin Robbins (who asked us to record an advertising jingle), and the high rollers at the New Jersey State Lottery. At Princeton, we perform in arch sings every two weeks and regularly sing the national anthem at basketball games, hockey games and swim meets.

An independent student organization without faculty support or guidance, the Footnotes support themselves almost entirely through revenue from off-campus performances. We perform locally at schools, private parties and public celebrations, and in the fall sing for Princeton's H. Gross and Company after football games. In the spring we spend time preparing for shows during Princeton's Reunions Weekend. Most of our off-campus shows are in the Princeton/Philadelphia/New York area, but three times a year we spend time in other parts of the country and world.

The Footnotes go on three tours a year, half to promote the group off-campus and half to reward our members for their hard work rehearsing and performing in Princeton. We always meet one week before school begins to prepare for the start of the season and learn new songs. Our next tour is usually in October, after we finish midterm exams and have a week free. In January we spend another week touring, normally in an exotic, warm location far from New Jersey.

We use our show revenue to pay for travel and lodging expenses, and normally our tours fund themselves. Our other major expense is albums--every two to three years we record and produce a new CD to ensure that every Footnote can be on an album during his career. Our latest album is "High" which was released in September 2009.

Every year the membership of the group changes, but it is always a solid mix of voices, talents and personalities. We audition freshmen and sophomores twice a year, so the group's sound is constantly being transformed. When our alumni return every year for Reunions in the spring, they join the current group in 1879 Arch to sing old songs and learn new ones. The Footnotes do not tour during the summer, so our Alumni Arch Sing is a teriffic way to send off our seniors and say good-bye to the group at the end of the school year. In September, we welcome new members to the Footnotes, learn new songs and sing shows. Although our rehearsal schedule is heavy--we practice about ten hours a week--it is enormously rewarding.