Morris Rector

Barbershop bass vocalist, choral director, and musical arranger. Born on March 19, 1934. Mo became one of the most legendary barbershoppers of all time. He joined the Gaynotes in 1955 replacing original bass, Dick Galloway, and helped them quickly rise to the top. Mo arranged almost all of the Gaynotes songs. He won both the 1956 South Western District Championship and the 1958 SPEBSQSA International Championship with the Gaynotes. Mo directed the Founders Chorus in Tulsa for a few years while singing with the Gaynotes before moving to Texas in December of 1966. After moving to Texas, Mo helped fill in as bass for the Mark IV while their bass, C.O. Crawford, was away. When C.O. was shipped off to Morocco for an assignment, Mo replaced him as bass and won his second gold medal with the Mark IV in 1969. This made Mo the very first double gold medalist in the Barbershop Harmony Society. Mo won his second SWD championship in 1975 as the bass of the Quasars. Mo sang with the Quasars for many years and they were a very popular show quartet. He also made it to the district finals in the mid-60’s with the T-Towners. In the mid-80’s, Mo founded the Good News Gospel Quartet. He along with Jerry Fairchild, Joe Mazzone, and Dale Deiser sang gospel songs in the barbershop style and released several albums and songbooks. Mo was a prolific arranger. Some of his most popular arrangements include, “Bye Bye Blues”, “Oklahoma”, and “I’d Give A Million Tomorrows.” Mo was inducted to the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Hall Of Fame in 2014. Mo tragically died on December 6, 2003 in an automobile accident at the age of 69.