I never heard HSH as a student from 1977-81. Not once. Then again, I missed convocation.Â
I did hear Come Join the Band a couple of times, and even my UC Berk.eley Mom knew that song. The Band played it (and still does) in obligatory fashion at half time.
Sometime during the many years I was away this 1893 hymn-like piece became popular again. I suspect it was the Fleet Street Singers' version that brought back its popularity. See this Daily article in 1989:
http://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/...7-01.2.143
But the Mendicants were around for much longer. I do not know if they beat Fleet Street to the punch. I presume so, but don't know.
Fleet Street did not exist when I was a student--it was founded in my graduation year. But A Cappella groups rose dramatically in popularity over the next generation, and by the early 2000s the a cappella groups were in demand at reunions and alumni events. (See this to understand how competitive it has become to get into one of the many a cappella groups at Stanford now:Â
https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/mag..._id=34932Â The real breakthrough came with this advertisement in 2003-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH1aTS1P...r_embedded
This ad won awards and reintroduced the song to countless alums who had rarely heard it. I wonder if it features Fleet Street or the Mendicants or someone else? My guess is Fleet Street.
Harbaugh came in 2007 so by then the song had been re-popularized. I do not know at what point the Band began playing it at football games. Perhaps he had a role with that.