West Coasters

The West Coasters were the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 1954 Far Western District Champions. First formed in 1953 with Gordie Lees on tenor, Tom Keehan on lead, Jim Potter on baritone, and Bill Cockrell on bass. Barrie Best replaced Gordie in 1954 and they won the fall Far Western District Championship that same year. In 1955, the West Coasters replaced Tom Keehan with Buck Hay as their lead. They qualified for the 1956 SPEBSQSA International contest and placed 8th. In early 1957, Buck Hay had to leave the quartet and was replaced by Jim Powell. At the 1957 International in Los Angeles, they improved substantially and placed 2nd. Following that contest, Bill fell ill and Jim Potter got married which caused the quartet to take a temporary hiatus. They got back together in time for the 1958 SPEBSQSA International with Les Woodson replacing Jim Potter as baritone and they came away as 4th place bronze medalists. The West Coasters broke up shortly after the 1958 contest but Bill Cockrell, Tom Keehan, and Gordie Lees later went on to form a quartet called the Gala Lads along with Dave Panther and won the SPEBSQSA International Championship in 1962.