The Yale Alley Cats is an undergraduate a cappella singing group at Yale University, the college's third-oldest.
In the summer of 1943, four Yale undergraduate students climbed Saybrook Tower to serenade the night with Henry Carey's "Sally in Our Alley." Their singing awoke the Saybrook Head of College, who yelled at them: "Stop it! Your singing sounds like a bunch of screeching alley cats!" and sent them to bed. The performance marked the founding of the group and gave it its name.
While the group’s early performances centered on jazz, their current repertoire includes pop, R&B, Motown, folk, and other genres. The group has created more than 400 a cappella arrangements.
Each April, The Alley Cats hosts its "Champagne Jamboree," or "Cham Jam", an on-campus performance that customarily features a non-male guest soloist from the senior class and a dance number featuring a soloist from the first-year class (known as "kittens"). Audience members toss shoes on stage if they feel particularly moved by a soloist's singing; many audience members bring multiple pairs of shoes to throw.
The group also performs for public and private audiences throughout the United States and around the world,The Yale Alley Cats release their first studio album under the Bridge Records label. funding their travels with concert revenue. Audience members have included Martha Stewart, Jay Leno, Stella McCartney, Tom Brokaw, and President Barack Obama.The Yale Alley Cats on "Martha Stewart's Home for the Holidays ." In 2017, the group performed at Facebook headquarters and Google headquarters on their tour of the California Bay Area, then at the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the United States Embassy in Paris, France. In 2018, the group completed a ten-city tour of China through the invitation of Beijing Shengchou Education Technology Company, including collaborations with the Central Conservatory of Music and other schools and hotels across the nation such as the Little Swan Choir in Xi'an. Tour destinations for the 2023-24 season included Hawaii, China, Switzerland, Qatar, and South Africa, with performances for the Chicago White Sox and at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing.
In 2021, the Alley Cats collaborated with songwriter Diane Warren to create a music video of her lead single from the movie Four Good Days, "Somehow You Do".
In 2023, Ryann Schaffer became the first female member of the Alley Cats.
As with many Yale a cappella groups, first-year students audition for the Alley Cats in a multi-week process known as "Rush." Current members choose several applicants to join the group for three years.Yale Daily News: "A cappella taps newest members" , The Yale Daily News, New Haven, 24 September 2009."Yale's A Cappella Rush", National Public Radio, 26 September 2002.
Notable alumni Many Alley Cats go on to join The Yale Whiffenpoofs—a selective all-senior a cappella group"An Irrepressible Urge to Join – Musical Groups" , The Yale Alumni Magazine, January 2003.—and some have gone on to careers in the performing arts, including:
James Bohanek ‘91, Broadway actor Jacob Clemente '19, starred as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical Manoel Felciano '92, actor, singer-songwriter Andy Sandberg '06, producer, director, writer, actor Josh Singer '94, producer, writer of Maestro and Spotlight George R. Steel '94, musician, composer
Discography The Yale Alley Cats have recorded 35 albums and one EP, including several live albums. Their 2013 album "Ghost of a Chance," on the Bridge Records, Inc. label, was submitted to the 52nd Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Album.52nd Grammy Awards entry list, Field 1, Category 11: Best Pop Vocal Album. Note: The original list at Grammy.com has been removed. A true and accurate copy is found at the current-referenced URL. Their 2021 album "Gemini," was nominated for Best Lower Voices Collegiate Album by the Contemporary A Capella Society (CASA). +TitleYear releasedGemini2021Limelight2020Love Lost - EP2019Havana - Single2019Pick of the Litter: The Very Best of the Yale Alley Cats Vol. 22019Midnight Drive2017The Gamble2015Pick of the Litter: The Very Best of the Yale Alley Cats Vol. 12014Noir2013Maneki Neko2010Ghost of a Chance2009Classic2006Ninth Live2004Day & Night2003Est. 19432001Cats Around the World2000Scratch1999Live in Europe1998Hot Tin Roof1997Swinging Cat1995Lingers on My Mind1993Mood Calico1991Top Hat & Tails1989Faux Paws1987The Cat's Out1983Night and Day1981Down for Double1979Magic To Do1977Out Cattin''' |1975 |- |25th Anniversary|1973 |- |Our House|1971 |- |Tales of the Alley Cats|1969 |- |You Go to My Head|1967 |- |Just For My Love|1965 |- |The Yale Alley Cats: Volume IV|1964 |- |Bewitching...|1963 |- |The Yale Alley Cats''1958
References
External links
Yale's A Cappella Rush NPR Samples of Alley Cat Performances Current roster and biographies