In the Spring of 1998, a musical theatre student named Marc Smollin decided to form an a cappella group. His goal was to have a musical ensemble that not only would perform contemporary a cappella, but also would explore musical tastes that were less mainstream at the University of Michigan, such as blues and vocal jazz. With the help of two producers, Michael Newberry and Heidi J. Powers, and the musical advice of friend Jessica Murphy, he auditioned over 100 U-M students for what was then an unknown and unnamed group. One month later, the name "Rollicking Crew" was chosen, with intentions of being reflective of the U-M spirit. This name, however, failed to exemplify the uniqueness and diversity the group upheld. Hence, a new name, "Dicks and Janes," was chosen in August 1998.

Today the Dicks and Janes is comprised of students from several of U of M's schools and colleges, and we sing at a variety of occasions and gigs. In October 2002, we hosted our 3rd annual Acappellooza Concert at Michigan Theatre to the tune of almost 1000 fans, with guest groups MIT Logarhythms and U of M's Compulsive Lyres.  The past two concerts have featured the ICCA champion from each of the previous years, and next year's Acapellooza looks to be just as phenomenal, to be held Saturday, October 25th, 2003, at Rackham Auditorium in Ann Arbor. Dicks & Janes has traveled from Los Angeles to New York these past few years, taking a West Coast tour in 2002 and an East Coast tour in 2003.  In the summer of 2002 we we had the esteemed privilege of opening for Rockapella in Ann Arbor.  For the third straight year in 2004 we made the Best of Collegiate A Cappella (BOCA) CD, and we advanced to the quarterfinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella for the 5th year in a row.  We placed first in the ICCA Quarterfinals, advancing to semifinals both this year and last year.  In 2004 we also won for Outstanding Soloist, Adam Wachter, Outstanding Arrangement, Christy Lombardi, and Outstanding Percussion, Vivek Natarajan.  This year we again won Outstanding Soloist, Ben Henri, and Outstanding Arrangement, Christy Lombardi.