Homer's Barbershop Quartet

"Homer's Barbershop Quartet"
The Simpsons episode
Promotional artwork for "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", featuring David Crosby
Episode no.	82
Directed by	Mark Kirkland
Written by	Jeff Martin
Showrunner(s)	Al Jean & Mike Reiss
Production code	9F21
Original air date	September 30, 1993
Chalkboard gag	"I will never win an Emmy"
Couch gag	The family rush into the room, crash into each other, and shatter into pieces. Then, as take 2 is called, the family morph into one disfigured creature. Finally, on take 3, the family run into each other and explode.
Commentary	Matt Groening Mike Reiss Al Jean Jeff Martin Hank Azaria Jon Lovitz Mark Kirkland
Guest appearance(s)
George Harrison as himself David Crosby as himself The Dapper Dans as the singing voices of the Be Sharps.
Season 5 episodes September 30, 1993 – May 19, 1994 "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" "Cape Feare" "Homer Goes to College" "Rosebud" "Treehouse of Horror IV" "Marge on the Lam" "Bart's Inner Child" "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" "The Last Temptation of Homer" "$pringfield" "Homer the Vigilante" "Bart Gets Famous" "Homer and Apu" "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" "Deep Space Homer" "Homer Loves Flanders" "Bart Gets an Elephant" "Burns' Heir" "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" "Lady Bouvier's Lover" "Secrets of a Successful Marriage"
Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

George Harrison as himself
David Crosby as himself
The Dapper Dans as the singing voices of the Be Sharps.

"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of The Simpsons' fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 30, 1993. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features the Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles. George Harrison and David Crosby guest star as themselves, and The Dapper Dans provide the singing voices of the Be Sharps.

The episode begins with the Simpson family as they attend a swap meet. There, Bart Simpson and his sister Lisa notice a picture of their father, Homer, on the cover of an old LP album. Homer explains to his family that he, Principal Skinner, Barney Gumble, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon recorded a barbershop quartet album in 1985, which catapulted them to national fame. He narrates to his family the story of how the band formed, reached the pinnacle of success, and eventually folded. At the end of the episode, the group reunites to perform a concert on the roof of Moe's Tavern, singing their number-one hit "Baby on Board".

Throughout the episode, several references are made to the Beatles and other popular culture icons. In its original American broadcast, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" finished 30th in ratings, with a Nielsen rating of 12.7. It was praised for its Beatles cameo, despite being a leftover episode from the previous season. Reviews that criticized the episode's inconsistent humor blamed it on the change of writers before the episode's creation.