on piano, then on drums; Flanigan, who played trombone through his army time in Germany, except when the dance band needed a bass player, alternating between string bass and trombone, and Kratzsch, who played trumpet in high school and in the Navy in the South Pacific, on trumpet, mellophone and string bass. Soon, the group dropped out of school and drove to Chicago, where they met agent Dick Shelton. As he already had a group called the Cottontoppers, he renamed them as the Freshmen Four, which they reversed to the Four Freshmen. They made their debut at Fort Wayne's 113 Club on September 20, 1948, and nearly lost the job since the manager had never heard jazz chords, but his daughter had a crush on Kratzsch, allowing them to stay for a week. Initial success Soon, the Four Freshmen drew the admiration of jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman. On March 21, 1950, Stan Kenton heard the quartet at the Esquire Lounge in Dayton, Ohio. He "had been told at his own show earlier that night about a quartet in town that sounded like his 43-piece ensemble", and was sufficiently impressed that on April 14, he arranged for an audition with his label, Capitol Records, which signed them later that year. The demo included "Laura", "Basin' Street Blues", "Dry Bones", and two other songs. In 1950, they released a single, "Mr. B's Blues", and appeared in their first and only film, Rich, Young and Pretty, where they sang "How D'Ya Like Your Eggs In The Morning" with Jane Powell and Vic Damone. The Freshmen released another single in 1951, "Now You Know", which was not a commercial success. Later in the year Capitol rejected their proposed next single, "It's a Blue World", and dropped them from the label. In May of the following year, a furious Stan Kenton demanded that the record company send them the demo tapes so that they could promote the song themselves. They managed to get the song onto the radio, and in 1952, "It's a Blue World" became their first charted single. Capitol re-signed the group in July of the same year. In 1953, Hal Kratzsch, now married, grew tired of touring and wanted to return to his hometown in Warsaw, Indiana to settle down. He announced to the others that his intention to leave as soon as a replacement was found.