♪ What would you do
if I sang out of tune? ♪
♪ Would you stand up
and walk out on me? ♪
♪ Lend me your ears,
and I'll sing you a song ♪
♪ I will try not to
sing out of key, yeah ♪
♪ Oh, baby, I get by ♪
- ♪ by with a little help
from my friends ♪
-♪ All I need is my buddies ♪
-♪ High with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ I'm sayin' I'm gonna get higher ♪ - ♪
try with a little help from my friends ♪
-♪ Whoa-oa-oa-oa ♪
-♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪
-♪ Somebody who
knows quite sure ♪
♪ Baby ♪
-♪ By with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ Said I'm gonna make
it with my friends ♪
-♪ Try with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ Oh, I'm gonna
keep on trying ♪
-♪ High with a little
help from my friends ♪
♪ I'm gonna keep on
trying now, baby ♪
-♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪
[Choir singing indistinctly]
-The halls of rfk junior high
Often echoed with
the sounds of music.
The kennedy chorale.
The kennedy madrigals.
And, of course, the
kennedy now-tones.
They were all part of a
long-standing family of song.
But, as with every family,
There was a
skeleton in the closet.
-[Off-key] ♪ ah, ah, ah, ah ♪
♪ Ah, ah, ah ♪
♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪
The boys' 8th-grade glee club.
♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪
The singing group from hell.
-Oh, boy.
-Twice a week, we transformed
mr. Frace's choir room
Into kind of a chamber
of musical horrors.
-Oh, my gosh.
-Randy mitchell... Baritone.
-♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah ♪
-Doug porter... Monotone.
-♪ Ah, ah, ah... ♪
-Paul pfeiffer...
No tone at all.
And, of course...
Me.
Not that we didn't have heart.
It's just that the
13-year-old-male voice
Isn't exactly
designed for, well...
For singing.
-Uh, hold that note.
-♪ Ahhh ♪
-Hold that note.
-We weren't the stuff
tabernacle choirs are made of.
So, out of a mutual
respect for the arts...
And humanity...
We'd reached an agreement.
We wouldn't push mr. Frace...
If he wouldn't push us.
-All right, all right!
That's enough!
Just, uh, get out
your books and study.
-All in all, a pretty
equitable arrangement.
-It isn't fair.
Every other group gets to
sing some songs and stuff.
Why can't we?
-Well, maybe because we stink.
-Then why are we here?
-Because we have to be here.
Right, warren?
-Warren gander.
No one had ever
heard him sing a note,
Much less say a word.
-So, what you're saying
is we're losers, is that it?
-But if paul was looking
to unite us in chorus...
- Pbht!
- Pbht!
- He had just heard
our best effort.
-Pbht!
-Face it... We knew
where we stood.
At the bottom of the heap.
And we were smart enough
not to seek the limelight...
[School bell rings]
Until, that is...
The limelight was
thrust upon us.
-There.
That's better, isn't it?
-Who's she?
[Note plays]
-♪ My name is miss haycock ♪
And if there's anything I
want to impress upon you,
Its...
♪ Use your diaphragms ♪
♪ Always use your diaphragms ♪
-What'd she say?
-♪ Do you hear
how that sounds? ♪
♪ Full and supported ♪
[Plays note]
♪ If you're doing it right ♪
♪ You'll feel it down here ♪
[Plays note]
♪ I'm thrilled to
be taking over ♪
♪ The 8th-grade
boys' glee club ♪
[Plays note]
♪ And when we sing ♪
♪ We'll always sing like this ♪
[Plays note]
♪ Because we're always
going to remember ♪
♪ To use our ♪
[Plays note]
-[Unenthused] diaphragms.
-She was fresh out of
teaching school, full of ideas.
And, oh, yes,
The woman was a total lunatic.
-Well, I think she's great.
-Paul, get a grip.
-Why, just because
she sang a little?
-A little?
I just hope she doesn't think
we're gonna sing like that.
-Well, maybe not at first.
But once we master
this diaphragm thing...
-Diaphragms or no diaphragms...
Miss haycock's arrival
Had sent a shudder of
fear through all of us.
-I don't want to sing.
That's why I took glee
club in the first place.
-Yeah, why do we have to have
a student teacher, anyway?
-Relax, guys. There's
nothin' to worry about.
This won't last long.
-What do you mean?
-I mean, this is her first job.
She has to look
like she's trying.
-Mitchell did have a point...
In theory.
-Maybe he's right.
Maybe she'll... Get over it.
-Trust me, in a couple of days,
She'll be acting
just like frace.
-Put away your songbooks.
We won't need them, after all.
-And that was that.
-We'll need the entire
hour for voice auditions.
[Scattered groans]
Who wants to be first?
-First?
Was she joking?
-Anyone?
-Only a complete doofus
would want to be f...
Okay, then.
It was time to show miss haycock
Exactly who she was up against.
In other words...
It was time to sing.
-[Off-key] ♪ my
country, 'tis of thee ♪
-[Off-key] ♪ sweet
land of liberty ♪
-[Off-key] ♪ of thee I sing ♪
-[Off-key] ♪ land where
our fathers d*ed ♪
[Piano plays notes]
-[Passionately] ♪ from
every mountainside ♪
♪ Let freedom ring ♪
-There.
We'd laid it out for
her... Clear as a bell.
The folly of it all.
The hopelessness.
The complete...
-Yes! Yes!
That's the kind of
passion we all need.
-Huh?
-I found that very moving.
Thank you, kevin!
-Sure, anytime.
-Attaway, caruso.
-Anytime at all.
-She made you sing?
All of you?
That I'd like to see.
-She said kevin had passion.
-Really?
[Giggles]
-She made a total fool out
of me, so can we just forget it?
-Well, I think she
sounds very sweet.
-So do i.
-Right gesture, wrong shoulder.
-Winnie, the woman's
a fruitcake, okay?
In fact, somebody
ought to lock her up!
In fact, somebody ought to...
-Kevin, that's not very nice.
-Uh-oh.
-What if it were me up there...
Standing there,
scared out of my wits,
Teaching my first class?
-Uh, well...
-Is that how you'd treat me?
-Okay, this was
tricky... Very tricky.
-Maybe you should think more
about things like that, kevin.
-It was pretty clear I
was gonna have to find
The moral highground here...
And fast.
-♪ Fwa ♪
♪ Fwa ♪
♪ Fwa ♪
♪ To sustain the note ♪
♪ We simply let the
air flow out gently ♪
Now, you try.
-♪ Fwa ♪
-[Off-key] ♪ fwa ♪
-♪ Fwa ♪
-Trouble is, our glee club
Wasn't exactly built
for high ground.
We'd been weaned
on low expectations.
-Why's she doing this to us?
-Even warren gander was
showing signs of strain.
-Now, men, I have a
surprise for you.
-Great. What was
it gonna be now?
-Today, we're going to
begin our first song...
"Stout-hearted men."
I have copies for all of you.
-All right. That ripped it.
No one... But no one...
Had ever threatened us with
an actual musical arrangement.
-And, that's not all.
We're going to be
singing it next month
At the spring sing concert!
- What?!
- What?!
-I know, I know.
We don't have much time.
But as I told mr. Frace,
My boys are up to it.
And he agreed!
-And suddenly it was clear.
Our reputation
was on the line, here.
Our tradition. Our bad name.
-Miss haycock?
-Yes, kevin.
-Do you really think
this is a good idea?
-Why not?
-Well... I...
We... Just think...
-Kevin...
What if it were me
standing up here?
-Kevin...
You think what?
-Awww!
-That...
It would be...
Fine.
-I knew you'd all feel that way!
Think of it.
We're starting on a new
adventure... Together.
-And so in a flash,
our fate was sealed.
The glee club's, miss haycock's,
And, of course...
Mine.
[Notes play on piano]
-♪ Men, men, men ♪
♪ All right, basses ♪
-♪ Men, men ♪
-Over the next few weeks,
Miss haycock struggled
to bring out our best...
-♪ Now, tenors ♪
♪ Ahhh ♪
-♪ Ahhh ♪
- Which, coincidentally,
happened to be our worst.
-Splendid! Now, remember.
Diaphragms.
Diaphragms!
-Meanwhile, I found
myself trapped
Between raw enthusiasm
and outright malice.
-Ow!
Hey!
-Nice goin', arnold.
-What's that for?
-"That'd be great, miss haycock.
We'd love to sing
in the spring sing."
-Come on, I didn't say that.
-Well, not exactly.
-We're gonna look like idiots
In front of the whole school,
Not to mention our parents.
What are we gonna do?
-Well, for one thing,
We're not gonna
mention it to our parents.
Deal?
-There's something
else we could do.
We could practice.
-Look, you got us
into this, arnold.
So you got to get us out.
-How?
-Talk to her.
-She's never gonna listen to me.
-Why not? You're mr. Passion.
You're the only one
she will listen to.
-Talk to her.
Our lives are depending on it.
-Easy for them to say.
But how do you talk to someone
Who can't even hear?
[Glee club singing]
-Excellent! Excellent!
-The fact was, even
though we sang harmonies
That would make quasimodo wince,
Chords not found in nature...
-Good!
Better!
- Nothing deterred miss haycock.
With a wisdom born
of weeks of experience,
She pushed on,
blindly... No! Deafly...
Toward a goal that was
obviously beyond our grasp.
-I know. Let's march in place.
Let's try that. Come on.
-We wanted to believe in her.
But it was pretty
clear, sooner or later,
Someone was gonna
have to burst this bubble...
Someone like...
-Psst! Arnold.
[Clears throat]
- Me.
-♪ Man to man ♪
-It's now or never, arnold.
-Ah, what the heck?
Was I a stout-hearted man...
Or a craven coward?
-Miss haycock?
-Yes, kevin?
-We've been thinking
this whole thing over.
And...
See...
We don't really wanna
be in the spring sing.
It's just that...
We're not any good.
So...
Maybe we shouldn't do it.
-There. Difficult, of course,
But best for everyone concerned.
-You... Really feel this way?
All of you?
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.
-I see.
Well... I had no idea.
-And there you had it.
We'd finally gotten
through to her.
Miss haycock was
coming to her senses.
She was going to see reason.
She was going...
-[Crying softly]
- To cry.
-[Crying intensifies]
-Needless to say, we handled
it with a certain maturity.
-Well, what you do
that for, arnold?
-Me?! You told me to!
-Way to go, kev.
-I can't believe you did that.
-You were supposed to
talk to her, not make her cry.
-[Crying continues]
-We had no idea what to do next.
The only thing that
could help us now
Was a miracle.
And then... It happened.
[Warren vocalizing]
[Vocalizing continues]
It took the tears
of a student teacher
To bring a song to the
lips of warren gander.
-[Vocalizing continues]
-♪ Men, men, men,
men, men, men, men... ♪
-♪ Men, men, men,
men, men, men... ♪
-♪ Men, men, men, men,
men, men, men, men, men ♪
-And the rest is history.
-♪ Men, men, men,
men, men, men... ♪
-♪ Lend me some men who
are stout-hearted men ♪
♪ Who will fight for
the right they adore ♪
-♪ Start me with ten who
are stout-hearted men ♪
-And so began the great
glee club comeback of 1970.
-♪ Give me some men... ♪
-There were only two weeks
left before the big spring sing,
But during those two
weeks, we breathed, slept,
And ate "stout-hearted men".
-♪ And I'll soon give
you 10,000 more ♪
-It became our anthem,
our battle cry...
[Horn honking]
As we rallied 'round
our secret w*apon.
-♪ Then there's
nothing in the world... ♪
-It was kind of... Infectious.
-♪ ...a plan ♪
♪ When stout-hearted... ♪
-And when the day
had finally arrived...
We had gone from horrible to...
-♪ Man to ♪
-♪ Man ♪
[Finale plays]
-Magnificent!
-Well, anyway, we were ready...
[Choir singing indistinctly]
-♪ Till you find your dreams ♪
[Applause]
-I'm not ready for this.
-Sure you are.
-No, I'm not.
-Oh, come on, paul.
It's just one song.
- Or so I kept telling myself.
-Look around.
These guys are
practically professionals.
People are paying a
buck-fifty to see them...
And us.
[Sneezes]
-Uh-oh.
That sneeze was a bad sign.
-[Sneezes]
-A very bad sign.
-Take a deep breath.
You know how you
get once it starts.
-It's my nerves.
-Come on, paul, what's
there to be nervous about?
Remember?
We've got warren.
[Indistinct conversation]
-Hey, you guys are in the
8th-grade glee club, right?
Can't wait to hear you sing.
-You too. What are you singing?
-We're starting out with
thomson's "hallelujah,"
Then "pater noster,
qui es in caelis"...
The vulpius version.
Then something
a little lighter...
Some selections
from "la bohème."
How about you?
- "Vulpius"?
"La bohème"?
- "Stout-hearted men."
- [Sneezes]
-Here they are...
My boys.
Come on, everybody.
Gather 'round.
I brought something for you.
Here. Pass these out.
Everyone gets one.
-Yep, miss haycock
was in her element...
Whatever element that was.
-I'm so proud of you all.
Ever since I was
a little girl...
-No, geez, don't tell us
this. We don't want to...
- I've dreamed of standing
up in front of a choir
And molding them in song.
Tonight will be
my very first time,
And I have you
to thank... My men.
I'll never forget any of you.
-The funny thing is, in a way,
that turned out to be true.
-All right. Let's line up.
We're next.
-And so from the murky
depths of mr. Frace's choir room,
The 8th-grade boys glee club
finally stepped into the light.
[Light applause]
Sure, we had misgivings.
But gazing down on miss
haycock's confident face,
We knew we had nothing to fear.
She believed in us.
And, of course, we believed...
In warren.
[Piano plays introduction]
But as I look
back on that night,
It isn't the anticipation
I remember best,
And it isn't the
faces in the audience.
-♪ Ahhhhhhhhhh ♪
-What I remember best
Is that warren gander's voice
chose exactly that moment...
-[Croaks]
- To change.
[Audience murmuring]
-♪ Ahhhhhhhhh ♪
[Croaks]
-It was cruel.
In front of our very eyes,
Warren had transformed
from lyric tenor...
To...
-[Croaks]
- Well, a bullfrog.
[Murmuring, light laughter]
So the rest of us did
the only thing we could...
We panicked.
-Keep going!
[Piano plays introduction]
Keep going!
- Men.
- Men.
- Men.
- Men.
- Men.
- Men.
- Men.
- Men.
-But the die was cast.
-[Sneezes]
-Paul sneezed...
-[Sneezes]
- Which was too much for doug.
[Thud]
Somebody laughed,
and I dropped my music.
-Keep going!
-[Sneezes]
-It was kind of
a chain reaction.
-[Sneezes]
-I'd like to say we rallied...
-[Sneezes]
-But... We didn't.
[Disorganized singing, talking]
[Disorganized singing continues]
Men. Men. Men.
- Men.
- Men.
-[Sneezes]
[Sneezes]
-It was no one's fault, really.
I guess we'd just been
pushed beyond our limits.
We we're a bunch
of 8th-grade boys,
Not an ensemble of
stout-hearted men.
[Light applause]
[Applause intensifies]
As for miss haycock,
She'd dreamed of molding
us into something we weren't.
But that night, she
got her wake-up call.
-♪ Give me some men who
are stout-hearted men... ♪
-The only problem was...
She wasn't there to answer it.
-[Sneezes]
-We never found out where
miss haycock disappeared to,
Although some said she'd
gone back to college.
Still, I like to think
that wherever she is
There's a warm spot in her heart
For the 8th-grade
boys' glee club.
After all, we'd
learned from her,
And in a way... She'd
learned from us.
We'd learned together...
-♪ Man to man ♪
- Or so I like to tell myself.
[Finale plays]
[Paul sneezes]