Homer's Barbershop Quartet/References

== Trivia ==
*The rooftop concert which the Be Sharps performed on the rooftop of Moe's Tavern at the end of the episode is clearly a parody of the January 30, 1969 Beatles rooftop concert which was performed on the rooftop of the group's Apple Corps studio in London, England. Guest star George Harrison was a member of The Beatles, and his line "it's been done" was likely a reference to this concert. His snub of the Be Sharps reunion also perhaps hinted his years long real-life disdain for his ex-bandmates to reunite under The Beatles name. In the 1970s. Harrison even assisted legendary British comedian Eric Idle in mocking his former band with the creation of a Beatles spoof band called The Rutles. In 1978, two years before ex-Beatle John Lennon's 1980 murder, The Rutles starred in a mockumentary BBC television film called All You Need Is Cash, which parodied, among other things, the 1969 Beatles rooftop concert.
*Ironically, Homer's line during the end credits, "I'd like thank you on behalf of the group and I hope we passed the audition," were the exact words John Lennon said during the version of Get Back which was recorded not for the version of the song which was released as a single, but instead as a song which was included on the group's album Let It Be. This album version of Get Back was the also finale song which was performed during the 1969 Beatles rooftop concert. However, in contrast to the band's usual Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership, Homer's Harrison was more instrumental than Lennon was for helping Get Back songwriter and fellow Beatle Paul McCartney give the song its title, as McCartney agreed to give the song its title after its words were mentioned in Harrison's song "Sour Milk Sea," and also rearranged Harrison's "Get back to where you should be" lyrics into Get Back's frequent chorus "get back to where you once belonged." Ironically, the word "Mo" was also used during the Let It Be version of Get Back as well. As a result of Ringo Starr's then-wife Maureen baring the nickname "Mo," Paul McCartney included the quip "thanks Mo" before Lennon said the album version's ending line.
*Like The Beatles, The B-Sharps would win the main Grammy, for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and then would show tension as they were recording their next album The Beatles (also commonly known as The White Album). Source of tensions among The Beatles included not just objections to Yoko's suggestion for artistic creativity, but with also the artistic creativity ambitions all four band members pursued individually.
*During the recording session argument, Apu ridicules Homer's "song about Mr. T," who a big 1980s celebrity best known for playing B.A. Baracus on 1983-1987 NBC television series The A-Team. After years of Simpsons parodies, Mr. T himself would finally guest star in the 2003 episode Today I Am a Clown.
*The way Lovejoy used the B-Sharps to raise church money bears resemblance to conspiracy theories surrounding Billy Graham's use of at times secular-themed singers such as Johnny Cash to raise money for his Billy Graham Evangelical Association. Lutheran historian Martin E. Marty was known to question Graham's methods of raising money.
*As with the B-Sharps, The Beatles broke up due to creative differences. However, in contrast to popular belief, John Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono was just one of several factors that led to the breakup, with all four bandmates having individual ambitions. In fact, Lennon once claimed "the break-up of the Beatles can be heard on" the 1968 White Album, which is perhaps parodied in the episode with the bickering that Apu shows as they were recording an album before Barney arrived with his Japanese lover; Homer perhaps would've explained more had he not been interrupted as he was saying "we were all getting tired of .............." Like Barney, Lennon would be the first depart, resulting in the Beatles having their future as band thrown into doubt. Paul McCartney, who worked with Lennon to write most of the band's songs, would be the next to leave, with tension still shown with his other bandmates. Former Beatle and episode guest star George Harrison perhaps hinted his longtime unwillingness to participate in a Beatles reunion when he dismissed the B-Sharps rooftop concert that resembled The Beatles rooftop concert. Harrison almost left the band in 1966, until he was assured that the band would not tour anymore. The Beatles were in fact on the verge of breaking up when the rooftop concert was performed as well, with Ringo Starr even briefly leaving the band a few months beforehand. While The Beatles were reportedly still having high album sales at the time of their breakup, they were not "hot" with regards to keeping the same level of "mania" they had when they were touring, with the band even changing their musical style to be more counterculture appealing for their first non-touring album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band, and also were not "hot" with regards to managing their business money, which was further exposed following the death of their manager Brian Epstein in 1967.
*Principal Skinner recognizes an old prison helmet of his from Vietnam with the number '24601'; this is the number tattooed on Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, and his only identification. The same number is also Sideshow Bob's prison number in Black Widower, and Marge's in "Marge in Chains".
*While rummaging through a box labeled "All items 5¢", Homer comes across some very expensive if not priceless collector items including what appears to be an original signed Declaration of Independence, Action Comics #1, Inverted Jenny stamps, and a Stradivarius violin. 
*Three of Marge's paintings from the season 2 episode "Brush with Greatness" can be seen at the swap meet. (One of fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, one of Homer asleep in his underwear, and one of Mr. Burns with a dog.)
*This was David Crosby's second appearance on the show, and the second appearance of a Beatle on the show. Crosby previously guest starred in Marge In Chains while Ringo Starr guest starred in "The War of Art".
*The famous Disneyland barbershop quartet, the Dapper Dans, provided the singing voices for the Be Sharps.
*Apu's new name (de Beaumarchais) is French for 'of the good market', an obscure reference to the Kwik-E-Mart.
*The Take One couch gag shows The Simpsons running into each other and shattering into pieces; this gag was reused in "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" and "Lady Bouvier's Lover". The Take Two couch gag shows The Simpsons running into each other again and melding into a blob; this gag was reused in "Bart Gets Famous". The Take Three couch gag shows The Simpsons once again colliding; this time they explode. The Take Three gag was reused in "Homer the Vigilante" and "Secrets of a Successful Marriage". In syndication, only the Take One gag is used.
*A deleted scene of this episode showed Skinner going back to his mother. She asks him if he was with a woman, he says no, then she asks for a bath, followed by mad laughing and a close-up of their Psycho-parody house. This is the first time Skinner would be involved in a knock-off joke based on the movie Psycho.
*This same deleted scene marks the only time Dan Castellaneta performed the voice of Skinner's mother.
*This is the first episode of the series to be dedicated in memory of someone who worked on the show before that has passed on.
*This is the second episode to feature three-year-old Bart and baby Lisa in a flashback.
*Homer later won another award in "Angry Dad: The Movie".
*In The Simpsons: Hit and Run, one of Apu's three costumes is his quartet outfit from this episode.
*The second album of the Be Sharps is called "Bigger Than Jesus", an obvious reference to a controversial quote by John Lennon.
*When the Be Sharps sing on the roof, other people were on another roof.
*People at Moe's Tavern can change banners very quickly.
*With the episode set eight years in the past, Lisa would be almost a newborn, but she is portrayed as almost the same age as Maggie in the present, around a year old.
*This is the first episode where Homer Simpson is voiced by two people instead of his main voice actor of the lead role, the second episode was "Treehouse of Horror XXV".
*This is the only episode where Don Jordan voices as Homer Simpson, but the only time he voiced Homer was when Homer was singing.
*The scene where the Be Sharps sang Baby on Board during their comeback was later reenacted by the Rampants at the Green 19 café in Dublin, Ireland.
== Citations ==
*The record that Comic Book Guy displayed at the swap meet, "Melvin and the Squirrels" is a spoof of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
*The song "Baby on Board" was first heard in Ishtar, the flop 1987 motion picture comedy starring Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty.
*After winning the Grammy, Homer tells Lisa after beating Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Well, you haven't heard the last of them." The English group did not have another US hit after "Come On, Eileen" and broke up in 1986.
*The chalkboard gag is a reference to the first year The Simpsons was not nominated. Coincidentally, the show and its cast won nine Emmys since the premiere.
*One of the albums on sale for $1 is by Spinal Tap, the fictional band from This is Spinal Tap, in which Harry Shearer played a member.
*When Homer was trying to write a new song, he sung "There was nothing in 's vault, But it wasn't Geraldo's fault". This is a reference to the failure on the live TV program "", hosted by . This program is famous for opening one of Capone's secret vaults, only for them to discover there was nothing inside it.
*When winning the Grammy, Barney mentions he is a fan of David Crosby, only to express confusion that he was a singer as well. This implies that Barney was a fan of David Crosby's history of alcohol and drug abuse.
==Goofs==
*After the "replacement Homer" malfunctions, the next scene shows Santa's Little Helper burying him in the yard. Santa's Little Helper did not become the Simpsons' pet until the Christmas special (and first episode), "Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire."
*The sign outside the Church in 1985 credits the group as "The Be Sharps" before they had decided on the name.
* M.C. Hammer appeared at the 1985 Grammys but he didn't get famous until the 1990s.
*When the group (with Barney) perform at the Statue of Liberty, Chief Wiggum's voice can clearly be heard.
* Homer refers to Joe Piscopo leaving Saturday Night Live in 1985 when setting the scene for the story, but Piscopo left the show at the end of its ninth season in 1984. The SNL cast at that time would either have been the season ten cast (Jim Belushi, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Mary Gross, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The Simpsons' own Harry Shearer [who left midway through the season due to creative differences with then-showrunner Dick Ebersol], Gary Kroeger, Martin Short, and Pamela Stephenson) or the season eleven cast (Joan Cusack, Robert Downey, Jr., Nora Dunn, Anthony Michael Hall, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Randy Quaid, Terry Sweeney, and Danitra Vance, with feature players Damon Wayans [who was fired mid-season due to going off-script in a sketch], Dan Vitale [who also left mid-season, only his reason was because of drug problems], Don Novello, Al Franken, and A. Whitney Brown).
*When Homer sends the kids to bed, from one angle, his phone has no numbers.
*While Homer says he had five and a half weeks at the top at the end of the episode, only one scene said it was 1985—and the John F. Kennedy airport scene said it was 1986.
*Wiggum is supposed to be the Be Sharps tenor singer (as he is replaced by Barney, who is an Irish tenor), but when they're singing, you can hear the Dapper Dans tenor and Wiggum in the same song.
*The swap meet is in Springfield, yet when the family sedan gets a flat tire, the family is in a desert, despite their house also being in Springfield.
*Baby Lisa says that Homer and the Be Sharps, at the Grammys, "beat Dexy's Midnight Runners." DMR's only U.S. hit was "Come On Eileen," which topped the charts in 1983, so the latest they most likely would have been considered for any sort of music award would be 1984.
*When Homer returns to the Power Plant, he returns to a role as Safety Inspector, which he was not promoted to until 1989 in "Homer's Odyssey".
*In the final scene, The Human Fly's glove changes color a few times between red and white.
* Even though Homer has a full of head of hair in 1985, the Be Sharps album covers and Marge's "replacement Homer" depict him as being bald.
* Right before Apu sings "goodbye", Chief Wiggum's mouth and Homer's mouth close for a split second.
* Many of the continuity errors in the flashback story may be the result of Homer's storytelling.
* Apu is seen with a beer in Moe's Bar, however alcohol is forbidden by his religion (Hinduism).
==Beatles references==
*﻿The Be Sharps's various performances is reference to the Beatles performances in Hamburg and Liverpool.
*One of the back cover of their album is reference to the back cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
*The performances on Moe's Tavern is reference to The Beatles’ early performances in the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
*Moe's Cavern is similar to the Cavern Club.
*﻿The final scene where the Be Sharps sing on top of Moe's Tavern is a parody of an impromptu concert that the Beatles had on top of Apple Corps on the 30th January 1969.
*Right when the episode blacks out and the credits appear, Homer says, "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the group, and I hope we passed the audition." This was an actual quote by John Lennon spoken right after they played Get Back on the rooftop.
*The cover of Bigger Than Jesus, The Be-Sharps second album, features the group walking on water. It is a direct parody of the art on The Beatles album Abbey Road. The album's title is also a reference to a controversial statement made by John Lennon. Unlike the Beatles however, no visible fallout is shown from the "bigger than Jesus" comment, which put the Beatles in rough waters.
*The Meet The Be Sharps album name and cover is similar to those of the Beatles' first official (second actual) U.S album Meet The Beatles. The cover is also similar to that of the Beatles' second British album With The Beatles.
*Barney's girlfriend is similar to John Lennon's girlfriend Yoko Ono, whom many Beatles fan hold responsible for the band breaking up.
*Barney's looks before they break up is similar to how John Lennon looked before the Beatles broke up. The break up of the Beatles is similar to this as they broke up due to not wanting to change their style.
*Right after the Be Sharps record Baby On Board, their manager says, "You've just recorded your first number one." This was spoken by Beatles producer right after the group had recorded, Please Please Me. 
*Wiggum's replacement is a reference to the Beatles’ former drummer, Pete Best being replaced with Ringo Starr.
*After Wiggum was replaced by Barney, an angry mob was shouting "Wiggum forever, Barney never." The same thing happen to the Beatles when they replaced Pete Best with Ringo Starr, the fans said "Pete forever, Ringo never."
*The band's manager, Nigel is based on Brian Epstein who was the Beatles' manager from the 24th January 1962 to his death on the 27th August 1967.
*Nigel telling Homer to keep his marriage a secret is similar to Brian Epstein advising John Lennon to do the same with his marriage to Cynthia Powell.
*Principal Skinner's reputation as the "funny one" is an ironic reference to George Harrison's reputation as the "Quiet Beatle."
*When Barney plays his song when he says of taking the quartet to a new direction, it starts off with his girlfriend saying "number eight" followed by Barney's burp repetitively. This is similar to the start of Revolution 9, where you hear an unknown announcer say "number nine" repetitively.
*Scene where the Be Sharps are greeted at New York JFK Airport by the fans and press is a reference to the reception the Beatles received when they arrived at JFK on the 7th February 1964 for their appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show on the 9th February 1964 and their Winter Tour of the US before returning home to the UK on the 22nd February 1964. 
**The Beatles' tours of the US and their popularity with their American fans is considered to be a start of the musical cultural phenomenon from 1964 to 1967, known as the British Invasion in which pop and rock musical acts and other forms of culture from all over the UK became popular with the American public. 
***At the time height of the Be Sharps's popularity, the American public was experiencing a second wave of musical cultural phenomenon coming out of the UK from 1982 to 2000, known as the Second British Invasion, kickstarted by the British synth-pop band, The Human League whose song, Don't You Want Me went to number one on the US's Billboard Hot 100 on the 3rd July 1982 and remained there for three weeks.
*Be Sharps' performance in New York is a reference to the Beatles' first live performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in which they sang Till There Was You, All My Loving, I Saw Her Standing There and I Want to Hold Your Hand. 
**The Beatles would later go on to make a further four appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show with their second appearance on the 16th February and their third appearance on the 23rd February, (being taped on the 9th February, shortly before their first live performance). Their fourth appearance on the 14th August 1965 had kickstart their second tour of the US before returning to the UK on the 1st September 1965, and their final live appearance as a group on the 1st March 1970.
*The scene where the Be Sharps broke up and went their separate ways is a reference to the breakup of the Beatles on the 10th April 1970, a month after their final live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. While the Beatles had filed for dissolution on the 31st December 1970, it wasn't until the 29th December 1974 that the Beatles were formally dissolved.
==Notes and references==
fr:Le Quatuor d'Homer/Références
Category:Trivia
Category:Goofs
Category:Cultural references
Category:Episode references