Krokodiloes

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Founded in 1946, The Harvard Krokodiloes are Harvard University's oldest a cappella singing group. Four members of the Hasty Pudding Club at 12 Holyoke St, popular for its all-male, burlesque musical theatre productions, began singing popular hits of their time in four-part harmony. The Krokodiloes, deriving their name from the ancient Greek word for crocodile, krokodilos, now consists of twelve tuxedo-clad undergraduates who sing songs from the 1920s through the 1960s.

The Krokodiloes have performed around the world for such luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Princess Grace of Monaco, Princess Caroline of Monaco, The Aga Khan, King Bhumibol of Thailand, Yo-Yo Ma, Julia Roberts, and Leonard Bernstein, who highly praised and composed music for the group. They have performed on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson", "Good Morning America," National Public Radio, and on numerous international national television programs.

Noted alumni of the Krokodiloes include actor Fred Gwynne, star of TV shows Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, and such films as My Cousin Vinny; Stu Malina, Tony Award-winning music director and orchestrator for the Broadway musical Movin' Out; Laurence O'Keefe, composer-lyricist for musicals such as Bat Boy: The Musical and Legally Blonde; and Ryan Leslie, a producer, arranger and recording artist responsible for breaking the first internet pop star, Cassie.

Each year, the Krokodiloes travel around the world on an eleven-week, six-continent tour. They have recorded thirty-one albums.

Some of the group’s notable accomplishments include:

Performing at the Inaugural Ball celebrating the Inauguration of President Bill Clinton.

Performing at the June 30, 1997 Hong Kong handover ceremonies commemorating the return of Hong Kong province to China.

Appearing three times at Carnegie Hall, debuting there to a sold out audience in 1989 at a concert to benefit world hunger, in the spring of 1995 in an American Red Cross benefit, and most recently in May, 1998 in a concert for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The group's motto is Nunc Est Cantandum, or “Now is the time to sing”.

In the episode "The Breakup" of the show 30 Rock, the character Toofor, a Harvard grad, says that he was in the Krokodiloes and had a solo on "Like a Prayer."