He's Been Gone Four Years Now....

If it wasn't for Dan Skuce I am not sure there ever would have been a Sing-Out South. He was the person left behind in late January, 1966 with the prime responsibility of molding together one of the first local Sing-Outs in the wake of the national cast's (Sing-Out '66) triumphant tour of Nashville.

He was perhaps a strange selection for the job. For one thing, he was Canadian (and so here in the South, we thought he talked funny). Secondly, I am not sure Dan had much of a musical pedigree. In fact, I am not sure he could carry a tune in a bucket. But he had such energy, spirit and enthuisiam.

And so, it was his powerful personality that in many ways helped mold together several hundred Middle Tennessee high school and college students into one of the finest singing and performing groups I have ever seen or heard in this town.

Dan Skuce, at the microphone, on stage during a Sing-Out South rehersal at the War Memorial Auditorium in February, 1966 (click to enlarge)

I think one of the finest tributes paid to Dan's work with Sing-Out South was how many of our cast members were recruited to join the expanded national casts after the Action Now! Conference in Estes Park, CO in the summer of 1966. But he also trained us well who stayed behind, and Sing-Out South continued to be a major force (along with a lot of other Tennesseans) in the Sing-Out and Up With People movement throughout the late 1960s and up until Sing-Out South ended in 1971.

After Sing-Out South, Dan repeated his great work with other local sing-outs across the country, but we like to think he always did his best work here in Music City....

Dan could always hold an audience. Here he is during one of Sing-Out South's earliest pratices held in the gym of the old Father Ryan High School.

We lost Dan to cancer four years ago today (October 26, 2005). In the weeks leading up to his death, and at the request of his friend Jaine Place, I was fortunate enough to be one of those who wrote him a letter of thanks for what he meant in my life. Here are some excerpts of what I wrote:

"One of the key people who shaped my life is you, Dan. Thank you.
...If you had not been willing to come and stay in Nashville in the winter of 1966 to mold together the cast of Sing-Out South, I am sure the rest of my high school days and the rest of my life might have been very different. I think it was in Sing-Out for the first time that I learned to dedicate myself to something greater, something beyond myself.

"...I strongly suspect I am not the only one who feels this way about their Sing-Out South experience. It was a wonderful time, filled with wonderful people...We may not have changed the world, but we changed ourselves, and mostly for the good, I think."

The intensity that was Dan Skuce.

If you have memories or stories you'd like to share about Dan Skuce, please feel free to leave your comments below.

Rest in peace, Dan.