THE NASHVILLE BANNER

When THE NASHVILLE BANNER, the city's evening newspaper ceased operations in the spring of 1998, its final edition was headlined "END OF STORY."

But for Sing-Out South and the original cast of Sing-Out '66 (later Up With People)THE BANNER was in many ways the beginning of the story as the newspaper hosted the group for a week in Nashville in mid-January, 1966.

This was the first appearance Sing-Out would make in the South and perhaps the first time Sing-Out did a concentrated series of shows in a major city.The result was nothing short of amazing, including the creation of Sing-Out South, one of the first local sing-outs and one of the most successful (with 500 young people and their parents attending the first organizing session later in the month (January 26) after the Sing-Out '66 tour of Nashville ended).

This front page story on Monday January 3 was the first mention in THE BANNER of Sing-Out'66's visit and the story stayed there on the front page every day (6 days a week Monday-Saturday)throughout the rest of the month!

That meant a full two-weeks of front page stories and photos even before the cast arrived in town on January 17! And once they arrived, the coverage expanded with pages of photos and stories every day throughout the front section of the paper.

(NOTE: If you want to learn more details, please click on any of these newspaper clippings to enlarge them for easier reading)

The first-day story and photos on January 3 set the tone for the coverage to come, featuring a world famous local celebrity, Pat Boone, who was working at that time with Sing-Out '66 as the MC for its first television special.

This is the first front-page article about Sing-Out '66 that appeared in THE BANNER on Monday, January 3, 1966. It called the show "a youthful explosion of music...whose songs of victory are already reverberating around the world." The cut line for the photo above said the group was coming to Nashville after a tour that "opened in Washington, crossed the West, then drew great ovations in Korea and Japan." The claim was also made that General William Westmoreland "has asked that the show be brought to South Viet Nam to appear before his fighting men" (a connection to that conflict that THE BANNER mentioned frequently).

The article above also outlines the strong appeal made for young people to see the show.Indeed performances were done at almost every major college and university in town (and being the Athens of the South that was, and is, quite a few). There was also an outreach planned to high school students with major shows held at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.

Endorsements of Sing-Out such as the one above by Metro Schools Director Dr. John Harris (and later by almost every major education and political leader in Nashville) were a major part of the promotional strategy.

Said Dr. Harris about Sing-Out:" This program goes beyond the realm of entertainment and patriotism...The message portrayed in this program can be regarded as inspiration and faith. ...Through the media of song and speech, these young people are bringing to the people a message indicating that American youth understand their obligations and responsibilities and particularly their appreciation of freedom--freedom as Americans know it."

This front page cartoon which ran the week prior to Sing-Out '66's arrival in Nashville is another example of the outreach to the city's young people. With the promotion continuing as the newspaper printed the planned schedule of shows every day in each edition.

But the endorsement below probably did the most to grab my attention and make me decide to see the Sing-Out show. It came from Father James Hitchcock, my principal at Father Ryan High School,and the Director of Catholic Schools for the entire Diocese of Nashville..

As a freshman at Father Ryan at that time, Father Hitchcock was a strong authority figure in my life. After reading in the paper, what he said below, how could I not decide to go see Sing-Out?

" As local representative for the Catholic school system, I shall insist that every single student of ours attend the program. I sincerely believe it will make him appreciate his American heritage and his personal responsibility to protect that heritage."

And there's more to share about the coverage of Sing-Out '66 by THE NASHVILLE BANNER.

Beginning Monday, January 17, I hope to post a daily update here of what THE BANNER did each day while the cast was here.

Looking back 45 years later, it remains simply astounding. The paper's coverage, along with the talent and enthusiasm of Sing-Out '66 cast itself, are clearly the compelling reasons that Sing-Out South came into existence.