The Be Sharps are one of the biggest musical acts to come out of
Springfield in
The Simpsons universe. In
1985 local
Springfieldians
Homer Simpson,
Seymore Skinner,
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and
Clancy Wiggum formed a
barbershop quartet. They performed stapes of the genre (such as "
Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby") at
Moe's Tavern for fun. Their minor popularity earned them invites to perform at such venues as the local church and state prison. One evening while at
Moe's
Homer was approached by management agent Nigel who offered to make he and his group major stars. Well, except for
Clancy whom Nigel declared "Too
Village People".
Homer volunteered to dismiss the police chief from the group and soon after
Barney Gumbel joined the musical powerhouse. Furthermore, Nigel insisted that Apu change his name to Apu de Beaumarchais and that
Homer not reveal to his fans that he's married because, as Nigel said, "Lots of women are going to want to sleep with you and we want them to think they can." Before parting ways for the night the group picked a name that would be funny the first time people heard it and less amusing each successive time. They chose "The Be Sharps."
Homer got to work writing the group's first breakout hit. His first try resulted in lyrics such as "There was nothing in Al Capone's vault, but it wasn't Geraldo's fault." Obviously this would be a greater challenge than Homer had thought. It took some special inspiration to get the songwriting juices flowing, and when his wife Marge showed him a "Baby on Board" sign she had purchased, an idea struck. Homer began to work out some new lyrics that practically wrote themselves: "Baby on board (something something) Burt Ward." Their first album, Meet the Be Sharps, was recorded and released soon after.
The Be Sharps went on tour as their popularity increased. They sang at New York Harbor to celebrate the anniversary of the Statue of Liberty and toured Sweden. Their first album was nominated for a Grammy and, much to their delight, they beat out Dexy's Midnight Runners and won the statuette. In fact, it was at the awards ceremony that Homer experienced the greatest thrill of his life: while chatting with George Harrison he found a massive plate of brownies. Homer missed his family, however, and the group returned to Springfield to work on their next album, "Bigger Than Jesus". It was also during this period that the marketing shoe dropped and tons of Be Sharps merchandise began to flood the market (including the toxic Be Sharps funny foam). By the time the sessions for the third album came around strain was on and the group was becoming burned out. Some of the new lyrics the group came up with include "For all the latest medical poop, call on surgeon general C. Everett Koop" plus a song about Mr. T. Barney had becomed involved with a Yoko Ono-type girlfriend that encouraged the group to take barbershop to strange new levels, something that the others resisted. The final crushing blow came with US Magazine listed the group in their "What's Hot and What's Not" issue under "What's Not." The Be Sharps split and went their seperate ways.
In 1992 the group reunited for a Dame Edna special, but it was on the roof of Moe's Tavern in 1993 that the group gave one last performance. Singing "Baby on Board" they wowed the hearts of the people on the street until Chief Wiggum authorized the use of tear gas to break up the reunion. The group isn't spoken of much anymore, although Homer still keeps his Grammy around for display. It was last seen being shown to Frank Grimes. Homer also had one last commercial musical success. In 2003 he went solo and recorded "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders" which sold very well, sparking a number of covers and remixes.
"I'm telling you it's mighty nice
Each trip's a trip to paradise
With my baby on board"