Don McGuire ('54)

 

Don McGuire (’54) spoke to a packed house during a 2015 Society of Lifelong Learning event at WKU. Photo from WKU/Clinton Lewis.	The Hilltoppers in a publicity photo, clockwise from top: Jimmy Sacca (’53), Don McGuire (’54), Seymour Spiegelman (’53) and Billy Vaughn. Photo from KET.

Don McGuire (’54), a member of the legendary Hilltoppers musical quartet, passed away yesterday (Sept. 6, 2018) at the age of 86. McGuire attended WKU on a basketball scholarship after a spectacular performance in the state high school all-star game, but it was his musical skill that brought him the greatest acclaim during his time on the Hill in the 1950s.

Along with McGuire, the Hilltoppers included Jimmy Sacca (’53), Seymour Spiegelman (’53) and former Westerner Billy Vaughn. Skyrocketing the top of the recording charts in less than three years, the group was recognized as the number-one vocal combination by Billboard and Cash Box magazines, and they consistently remained one of America’s Top Ten through 1960. The young men recorded their first hit, “Trying,” in Van Meter Auditorium while they were students at WKU. In a 2016 KET documentary, McGuire, who was the last surviving member of the quartet, recalled there were just 12 people in the room for the recording, though, “to this day, nearly a quarter-million people have claimed to be in there.”

In all, a total of 21 Hilltopper songs made the way onto Billboard’s Top 40 Hit List, and the group enjoyed record sales in excess of 8 million copies. They also appeared on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town and on American Bandstand.

Earlier this year, McGuire released his biography, “From Big Bottom to Broadway: Remembering the Singing Hilltoppers,” where he shared what he called an unbelievable ride around the world. “And to think it happened to me still seems unbelievable,” he wrote.

Over the years, McGuire continued to remain involved with his alma mater. A Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, he served as President of the WKU Alumni Association Board of Directors in 1979-1980. In addition, memorabilia from the Hilltoppers is housed in the WKU Museum in the Augenstein Alumni Center, which opened in 2013.

McGuire made his home in Lexington, Ky. He is survived by his wife, Maxine; his children Kreis (’80), Cindy and Lisa; and several grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by his Hilltopper family.

 

 

From Big Bottom to Broadway: Remembering the Hilltoppers, by Don McGuire

KET Documentary: The Hilltoppers

A look at when The Hilltopppers were Chart-Toppers

 

Don McGuire, last surviving member of The Hilltoppers, dies

Hazard native, part of legendary singing group, dies