No one has had a bigger influence on non-classical vocal arranging than Gene Puerling.
His work with the Hi-Lo’s and The Singers Unlimited, as singer and arranger, are of course the core of his work – and what incredible work it was. In addition, he wrote for most of the significant active vocal groups while he was writing: The Manhattan Transfer, Chanticleer, The Real Group, and more. Take 6 considers him one of their biggest influences, and when I asked Darmon Meader who influenced him as an arranger, he said three names: “Puerling, Puerling, Puerling.”
I know that most of the most successful commercial choral arrangers cite him as an important influence: Kirby Shaw, Roger Emerson, and Steve Zegree to name a few.
In 2026, my students still get excited when we start singing his arrangement of “Georgia On My Mind” – it’s a joy to sing.
Today would have been 97 years old. If you’re not familiar with his work, get a playlist going, staring with his Hi-Lo’s and TSU recordings…then expand outward from there.