Men of Note

     Growing up in Tampa I have had the convenience of visiting Busch Gardens very often.  Going there as a little girl I would see the animals, ride the rides, and watch the shows.  The one show that I would always look forward to watching was any show put on by a group called, Men of Note.  This acapella group could sing any song in perfect harmony and captivate the audience with their smooth sounds and effortless presence.

   Originating in East St. Louis, Illinois, the group was started by 14-year-old Laron Shepard.  Laron wrote original songs and eventually became a duo with Derrick Harley.  When they decided to add more members and make their duo a group, Derrick went to school with a student named Curtis Griffin and became the third member of the group then known as Casual Lovers.  Over time other members came and went never really being a good fit for the group.  After dismissing the other members leaving only Laron, Derrick, and Curtis, the harmonies required a fourth singer.  They sought out the vocal talent of Calvin Jones, sending him songs that they had been working on.  After listening, Calvin became the fourth member to finally make the group complete.  Over the next four or five years, the group perfected their sound and tried to decide on a catchy name.  They went through multiple names: Fourth Dimension, For of A Kind, and finally decided on Blak Together. 

     In 1991, Busch Gardens held auditions for new talent at the Hyatt Regency in East St. Louis.  Blak Together felt this was a good opportunity to get their group exposure, so they went to the audition, but was missing one of their members, Calvin Jones.  Busch loved the group but wanted to see them as a whole and decided to put them on active standby.  As time went by the group forgot about the audition and continued singing in their hometown.  A year after the audition Blak Together decided to go to the mall and challenge the singers at The Fudgery, a store where they sing while making fudge, to a sing off.  After the singers at The Fudgery heard the group they informed them that Busch Gardens was upstairs holding auditions.  After receiving this information the group decided to go upstairs and audition for the company again, but this time as a complete unit.  Busch loved them so much they had them sing 10-15 different songs and hired them without hesitation.  That same year Blak       Together relocated to Tampa, FL now as, the Men of Note.

    

      Once relocated to Tampa, FL, Men of Note not only became the first singing group hired as actual Busch employees, but they also became ambassadors for the company.  For the first three years Busch sent Men of Note back and forth to Canada to promote the company.  Along with Canada the group was also sent to, Venezuela, Guatemala City, Argentina, Buenas Aires, San Juan, and many more.  Being ambassadors for Busch was not the only opportunity given to the group, in 1993 they were featured in the movie Cop and a Half.  Ten years after the movie in 2003, Men of Note thought they finally got their big break and was offered a deal with an independent record label.  Thinking this was the direction they wanted to go, the group left Busch Gardens but quickly returned, as the deal went sour in just three months.

     After the disappointment of the bad record deal, Men of Note continued to perform at Busch and within the years of 2005-2006 one of their original members, Derrick Harley, left the group due to an addiction he could not control.  So there they were back to a threesome, missing that fourth harmony that was so important when trying to put the group together years before.  After six months of searching they finally found their replacement, Stewart Best.  Stewart would stay for five years but Busch had different plans for him because in 2011 Best would no longer be with the group. 

     The opportunity for the next member to become the final member of the group was an opportunity that he wanted for years.  When he was a young man he watched Men of Note and they became an inspiration to him and his music.  The group knew him when he was younger but did not realize the magnitude of his talent.  When he was hired at Busch Gardens in the hit show Katonga, his true potential came to the surface.  He knew that Men of Note was what he wanted to do and Men of Note knew he would help take their group where they wanted to go, so Men of Note added Derek Womack to be their fourth and final member.  Now that Derek has been with the group for almost a year a Men of Note feel that Derek has helped them, “surpass the original group.”  Laron Shepard said, “That boy is going to put us back on the map.”  They loved their decision on adding Derek to the group and Derek feels very “humbled,” to be part of such a legacy.

     I asked some of the members to tell me what they would say to describe Men of Note and Curtis Griffin said, “Very in tune with each other,” and Calvin Jones says, “Very talented raw performers.”  I definitely believe this.  After watching them since I was six years old and also getting the pleasure to work with these talented individuals, Men of Note is on a level of their own.  They are the epitome of what real talent sounds like with harmonies stronger then ever.  Men of Note is more then a singing group they are a brotherhood that no one can ever shake.  For more information check them out on You Tube or visit Busch Gardens Tampa.