Members: Doctor Gregory Lyne, Gary Parker (4), Greg Clancy (2), Brian Beck (4), Bill Thornton, Al Kvanli, Rick Robertson (10)

The Dealer's Choice is the Barbershop Harmony Society's 1973 International Quartet Champion.

They first formed in July of 1971 with Al Kvanli singing tenor, Louie Mullican singing lead, Bill Thornton singing baritone, and Gary Parker singing bass. After placing 6th in the 1971 SWD contest, Brian Beck of the Doo Dads joined them as baritone and Bill switched to lead.

They placed fifth at the next prelims and decided to go to a HEP school and this ultimately helped them improve. They relied on coach, Don Claus, who helped them improve their sound and arranged one of their most popular tunes, “Who’ll Take My Place When I’m Gone”. They went on to win the 1972 SWD championship and qualified for the international contest in Portland.

When the guys got to Portland, they were practically unknown by anyone there but their popularity in the contest began to grow as the week went by. The convention favorites, the Pacificaires began to worry as the Dealer’s Choice rose through the contest. They won the 1973 international championship by a mere 1 point. They were first quartet in 21 years to win the international contest on their first try.

After winning the gold, they went on to release 7 albums (Dealer’s Choice In Concert, Songs Like Daddy Used To Play, Choice II, Songs Of Yesterday, The Last Session, and Like The First Time) and travel the world together. They became a very popular show quartet with several different themes. Some of their other most popular show tunes included, “A Song Like Daddy Used To Play”, “Berkeley Square”, “Down Among The Sugar Cane”, “California Here I Come”, and many more.

In 1976, Brain left and was replaced by Dr. Greg Lyne. The DC retired in late 1978 after a weekend tour of England. They came out of retirement in 1988 with Brian back in the baritone slot and with Greg Clancy replacing Al Kvanli. Rick Robertson would temporarily replace Gary as bass in the early 90’s when he moved to Richmond, VA. They retired once again in 1992. The championship version reunited in 1998 to celebrate their 25th anniversary, in 2015 for their hall of fame induction, and in July of 2023 in Louisville, Ky for the 50th anniversary of their international championship.

Today all four original members are still with us. Al Kvanli is retired and lives in Plano, TX. Bill Thornton is retired and lives in Dallas. Brian Beck is still active and lives in Colorado. Gary Parker is still an active writer and lives in Florida. Greg Clancy now directs the Vocal Majority and went on to earn his quartet gold medal in 2007 as the tenor of Max Q. Rick Robertson went on to be a two time SWD champion with the Forty Acre 4 and Texas Gold. We sadly lost Dr. Greg Lyne in 2022 at the age of 75.