Du Quoin Postmaster Steve Dinkins performs with So. Ill. barbershop chorus

Du Quoin Postmaster Steve Dinkins is part of a system with the unmatched ability to reach every household and business in America six days a week.

But, at night and on weekends his baritone voice reaches out to Southern Illinoisians as a member of the Little Egypt Barbershop Chorus.

Dinkins and members of a barbershop quartet strolled the streets of Du Quoin Friday afternoon delivering singing valentines to promote their craft and their upcoming show at the Herrin Civic Center.

There are 30 members in the chorus and Dinkins, 56, is also a member of the Southern Illinois Madrigals, which performed during the holidays at the Du Quoin Elks.

Their annual show called "Steamin' Down the River" will be held Saturday, March 29, 2014 at the Herrin Civic Center at 101 South 16th Street. There is a 2 p.m. matinee and a 7 p.m. evening performance.

Tickets are available from chorus members, the Herrin Civic Center and the main branch of Carbondale Bank or you can go to www.littleegyptchorus.ticketleap.com on the internet. Matinee tickets are $15 general admission, $13 for seniors and $10 for children.

Tickets for the evening performance are $18 general admission and $16 for seniors.

Dinkins works as a postmaster. Some singers are educators and retired SIU professors. Director Jim Alvey is a prison guard.

"We have members who are 30 years old and we have members who are 90 years old," said Dinkins.

Dinkins' love of music was cultivated while a freshman and sophomore in high school. He attends the Du Quoin Church of Christ on East Franklin Street in Du Quoin. He was appointed postmaster here in August 2012.

There is a wonderful and unique quality to barbershop singing and its roots are very simple.

In the last half of the 19th century, U.S. barbershops often served as community centers, where most men would gather. Barbershop quartets originated with African American men socializing in barbershops; they would harmonize while waiting their turn, vocalizing in spirituals, folk songs and popular songs.

This generated a new style, consisting of unaccompanied, four-part, close-harmony singing.

Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord, usually below the lead.

At the end of the day, here's why they do it. It's fun! Barbershop harmony is for men who like to sing and enjoy the sound of male voices blending chords in the barbershop style. Singing helps you forget your worries and makes you feel better by improving your attitude toward life and your fellow man. Singing allows you to share something you enjoy with others. Barbershop harmony expresses a message from an era when people enjoyed the simpler pleasures of life.