And Now....A Word of Thanks To Our Sponsors

If you've read the previous posting here about the new documentary "Smile 'Til It Hurts" and watched the trailer of the film which concerns the history of the national Sing-Out and UWP shows, you will note that suspicious motives are alledged concerning many of the corporations that sponsored the national casts and their travels during those years.

There seem to be allegations that several of these large businesses, mostly American-based used Sing-Out and Up With People as a way to gain initial access to foreign markets that they would later exploit by selling their products or gaining business contracts.

I have no idea of the truth of that (although it sounds a little exaggerated to me, frankly). I do know that we had a lot of Nashville businesses and prominent individuals who financially supported and sponsored Sing-Out South during the 1960s and early '70s. And I thought this blog would offer a good opportunity to thank them.

Here's a partial list as it ran in the program distributed on the night of SOS' premiere performances at Hillsboro High School on March 25 & 26, 1966.

Allied Sound Company
Avis Truck Rental System
Beaman Pontiac
G. Park Brinson, Columbus, GA
Capitol Chevrolet
Vice Mayor George Cate
Mayor Beverly Briley
Governor Frank Clement
Commerce Union Bank
Clark Hardware
Frank Davis Buick
A.D. Creighton
Cumberland Motors Co., Inc.
Thomas L. Cummings, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Lipscomb Davis, Sr.
Mr.& Mrs. C.F. DeVillbiss
Dr. H.C. Gabhart
O.C. Doty
Electra Distributing Co.
Mr. & Mrs. Bill Eller
Mr. & Mrs. James T. Granberry, Jr.
Hale Harris
Dr. John Harris, Metro Schools Director
General Motors Corporation
Harvey's
Hertz Truck Rental
Mr.s Agnes Hibbs
Rev. James Hitchcock, Catholic Schools Director
Holiday Inns of America
W.F. Holt
George House, Tennessee Distributors, Inc.
Sam H. Hunt, Third National Bank
Inglewood Hardware, Inc.
Johnson Lumber Co.
Metro Police Chief Hubert Kemp
Manning P. Kirby
Lankford Hardware & Supply Company
Edward Lunn
THE NASHVILLE BANNER
Nashville Stone Setting Co.
National Casket Co.
National Stores Corp.
Nicholson's Hi Fidelity
Fred Peyser, Melrose Camera
Jim Reed Chevrolet
Mr. & Mrs. John Reid
Cummings & Company
E.B.Stahlman
Sears Roebuck Co.
A.J. Smith Co.
Stewart's Inc.
Alex Taylor
Electric Business Machines
Tennessee A&I University
Tennessee Trailblazers
The National Life & Accident Insurance Company
Dr.& Mrs. Wendall Wilson

Now clearly many more businesses and individuals were involved over the years in supporting Sing-Out South. There's Governor Buford Ellington for one, and the many business leaders and others who gave money to support our trips to the national conferences in Estes Park, CO. and Ft. Slocum, NY.

And then there are our own parents and families and those who filled up those blue buckets with the letters S.O.S. on them which we passed around during intermission at our shows seeking financial support.

Looking at the list above, you can see how broad based our support was in the community and at how much Nashville has changed over the years. I can see in many cases, exactly what the support of certain businesses or groups was for: the sound system, the stage, cast uniforms, transportation.

But I do have one question: What was the support of the National Casket Company and the Nashville Stone Setting Co. about?

Whatever it was, we thank them. And we appreciate their help, even if all it was for was to support young people and a patriotic show they really liked.

Uncle Walter Is Gone....

He was known as "The Most Trusted Man In America."

During our time together in Sing-Out in the 1960s, it was often Walter Cronkite who brought us the news about what was happening in our nation and our world.

Even many years later, he is still the calm, knowledgeable voice amid uncertain times. Nowhere was that more true than in his coverage of our space program and especially the Moon landing of Apollo XI on July 20, 1969. How ironic that Walter Cronkite would pass away at the age of 92, just as the nation reflects back on that unqiue moment in human history some 40 years ago...

But it wasn't just the moon landing for which we will always remember Walter Cronkite. He was there when the great tragedy of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King occured not far from Nashville in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968...

For those of us who grew up in the 1960s, the King murder was not the first time Walter Cronkite had brought us tragic news. There was that Friday afternoon on the 22nd of November, 1963 when the assassination of President John F. Kennedy almost caused Cronkite himself to lose it on the air.Here's the some the live,uncut TV coverage of the moments when the story was just breaking...

During his time as the anchor of "The CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite" (1962-1981), he was so influential that when he returned from a reporting trip to South Vietnam just after the Tet Offensive and concluded in a rare on-air editorial that the U.S. could not win the war there, President Johnson said: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

Walter Cronkite was clearly a major influence on my decision to become a journalist, although actually I first admired his work as the host of the 20TH CENTURY, a show that looked back at the major news events of the last few decades.

Unfortunately, I never had the privilege to meet or talk with Walter Cronkite, although I got close once. In the late 1970s, while I was working at WTVF-TV, Channel 5 here in Nashville, I went on vacation to visit my in-laws in South Florida. That trip included seeing a Miami Dolphins game. My then-boss Chris Clark was also due to be in Miami then to attend the national Radio & Television News Directors convention.

Since we had an extra ticket, and the Dolphins' opponent was Minnesota (whose quarterback was Fran Tarkenton, an ole Georgia Bulldog which is Chris' school), we invited him to join us. Afterwards (still trying to butter up the boss), we went to dinner at Joe's Stone Crabs, one of the great restaurant in Miami Beach(now South Beach).

The place was jammed with people, but fortunately since my father-in-law dined there with some frequency we managed to get a table and have dinner. On our way out, who do we see cooling his heels in the lobby? Walter Cronkite!

My mother-in-law, surprised to see such a familar face, blurted out in a loud voice: "Why that's Walter Cronkite!" He smiled at us, nooded and we went on our way.

Our children, and pretty much anyone under the age of 35 or 40, can not really appreciate who and what Walter Cronkite was. The world and broadcast journalism has changed. There will never be another Walter Cronkite. And we will miss him.

And...as Mr. Cronkite would say..."That's the way it is."

So Where You Were You 40 Years Ago?

Forty years ago in mid-July, 1969 the whole world was holding its collective breath as three American astronauts on board the Apollo XI spacecraft rocketed their way towards the first lunar landing.

So what were you doing, particularly the night of July 20 when the moon landing took place? It's an event so unique and special we should all remember pretty clearly what we were doing and where we were that night, just like we do for the JFK assassination or 9/11. So please share your thoughts and memories below.

Courtesy of Google here's a look back at the Apollo XI mission.

The Space Race played a role in several of the songs we sang in Sing-Out. There's the song honoring the late astronaut Ed White, who was the first American to walk in space and was later killed in the tragic fire while getting ready for a Gemini mission. And then there was the line in "Gee, I'm Looking Forward To The Future", where the soloist (usually for SOS, it was Edna Vilars) sang: "But just think about today, why we've almost landed on the moon!"

I guess they had to change that line after Apollo 11. I don't know. My days in Sing-Out South were all but over by the summer of 1969. I had finished high-school and spent the summer on my own (for the first ever) attending a broadcast school in Atlanta. I also worked at a McDonald's Restaurant in Buckhead to make some pocket money.

The day of the moon landing, I was just about to take the bus to work. It was late afternoon and since I didn't have a TV set I listened to the moon landing on the radio.

Since the astronauts were not due to begin their moonwalk for several hours, I thought I had plenty of time to do my shift and be back at my place at Amherst Hall, which just of Peachtree Street was near Piedmont Park, to watch the event on the community TV at the boarding house.

But when I got to work I learned the moon walk was going to start early. Not surprisingly there was almost no one eating out that night, even for a fast food meal at McDonald's. So the entire staff told the manager, either bring in a TV so we could stay open and watch the moon walk, or shut it down so we could go home.

We went home and I got there just in time to watch the moonwalk.
Here again is what some of it looked and sounded like courtesy of YouTube..

At that time, the largest audience in the history of television (over 600 million people)watched the moonwalk. A national holiday was declared for the next day, so many folks stayed up late.

They also got on the phone to call family and friends. Now making a long distance call in those days was a big deal and an expensive thing to do. So I probably called collect. :)

I'm pretty sure I called my family at home and I do remember calling some of my Sing-Out friends (including Molly Hudgens who was my girlfriend at the time). She had several Sing-Out folks over that night for a moonwalk party (Allison Smith, Henry Swider and probably a few other folks).

I'm not sure how many people in Nashville actually got to see the the moon walk that Sunday evening. News reports say there were some strong storms in the area and several parts of town lost power.

What a shame to miss something that historic because of some lightning and thunder. Even 40 years later the memories of that time remain quite strong and clear for me.

Our Gathering Place Celebrates A Milestone In Nashville

Of course, I can't speak for everyone who was involved in Sing-Out South, but while I was in the cast in the late 1960s, one of our favorite places to go after practice, or a show, or just to hang out together, was Shoney's.

That was particularly true concerning the Shoney's on Murphy Road just off West End. It's gone now, but in its day, it was one of the first Shoney's built for dine-in only. There was no outside drive-in facility, which had been a Shoney's staple for many years.

We would go there to the Murphy Road Shoney's, and often have long (and sometimes heated) discussions about MRA, Sing-Out and the state of the world and life in general. Usually Henry Swider was involved.

Once, I think we even got kicked out for being too loud and probably staying too long without ordering much food. Hey, remember we were kids without much money in those days. :)

I thought about all this because Shoney's recently celebrated its
50th anniversary in Nashville by completely remodeling its store on Thompson Lane into a new prototype restaurant for the chain. By the way, this is the "new" Thompson Lane Shoney's closer to Nolensville Road, not the one that used to be right next to the railroad tunnel closer to Pla-Mor Bowling Lanes and the National Guard Armory, where we used to practice.

For those of us who grew up eating at Shoney's the mascot symbol was the Big Boy. Now it's the Shoney's Bear.

For a time there was also a Shoney's in 100 Oaks Mall, and I remember some of us used to sneak down there after we practiced at the Armory or in the old Quanset Hut building there. And we'd sometimes go the Shoney's on Nolensville Road near old Harding Mall.

Shoney's was also helpful to Sing-Out South to attend the two of our Sing-Out national conferences. In early August, 1967 we held our 100-hour Car Wash Marathon to raise money for cast members to attend the World Sing-Out Festival being held at Ft. Slocum on David's Island just outside New Rochelle, NY (and just outside New York City).

The goal of the car wash was to wash 1,000 cars at one dollar apiece (plus generous tips )in 100 hours. I don't remember if we made the goal, but I do remember we held the car wash at a gas station just down the hill from the Murphy Road Shoney's (today we'd be in the middle of I-440). I also remember we made lots of trips to Shoney's for food and drinks during that car wash marathon.

The year before, in 1966 the Shoney's on Harding Road in Belle Meade donated an entire night's proceeds for our funding raising efforts to go to the Sing-Out Conference held in Estes Park, CO. The restaurant stayed packed with customers all night (many of the patrons were Sing-Out members and our families).

People did not go out to eat in those days as often as they do today. So my parents taking our entire family (including 6 kids) out to eat at a sit-down restaurant was a rare and wonderful treat...and it was all for a very good cause.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Shoney's is a client of my firm, DVL Public Relations and Advertising, although I do not work on the account.

Over 44 Years Later And It's Still Drawing A Crowd

It's been over 44 years since Sing-Out '65 began the Up With People movement.

For many alumni cast members the spirit of the show continues to burn in their hearts. A couple of weeks ago, cast members from the 1965-70 Era joined up with other alumni in Branson, MO to perform "A SONG FOR THE WORLD," a two-hour presentation which featured the best songs of Up With People and which honored the musical founders of the show, the Colwell Brothers and Herb Allen.

I saw a tentative rundown of the show and it listed a lot of songs we in Sing Out South would remember, and which we also performed back in the 1960s, That includes PAUL REVERE, SING OUT, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE, WHAT COLOR IS GOD'S SKIN and, of course, UP WITH PEOPLE, although as you can tell from this YouTube video, some of the tunes have been given a contemporized feel....

Reports I've seen said the A Song For The World show was well received, with a combined attendance of almost 400 people for both nights. That's a pretty good turnout when you consider the venue size and how many shows there are every weekend in Branson.

It seems there will always be a Nashville and Middle Tennessee connection with Sing-Out and Up With People. That continued with the recent show in Branson through the involvement of the Smith-Wade band which was the orchestra for the show along with the addition of a horn section and a keyboard player.

Smith is Dick Smith and Wade is Cabot Wade, both members of the original Sing Out South cast and who went on to further accomplishments musically when they joined the national casts of Up With People in the late 1960s. They've also worked together in the Smith-Wade group since 1971, performing at special events all across the country from their home base of Williamsburg, VA.

Dick Smith is second from the right in this photo as he performs with the rest of his Tennesse Tech Quartet(Joe Capers, Ken Ashby and Lee Piepmeier) at the debut performance of Sing Out South at Hillsboro High School on March 24, 1966.

A contemporary photo of Cabot Wade, who plays acoustic and electric guitars, bass and the keyboard.

By the way, there is also a book which has recently been published entitled, "A Song For The World." It is written by award-winning author Frank McGee and profiles the story of the Colwell Brothers and Herb Allen as musical diplomats to the world through their work with Up With People.

Over 40 Years Later, Sing-Out Is Still Making News

It's been over 44 years since the first Sing-Out cast (Sing-Out '65)was formed on Mackinac Island in Michigan.

That's a long time ago, but the group and its Up With People descendants (that includes Sing Out South) are still causing a stir
over four decades later through a new documentary that is making the rounds of film festivals across the country this spring and summer.

"Smile 'Til It Hurts" is the feature documentary debut of Lee Storey, who is a lawyer by profession, as well as the wife of an Up With People alumni, who had kept his participation secret from his spouse. Wanting to know more, Storey decided to produce the documentary because (according to her blog and web sites): "I wanted this documentary to be a critical and objective analysis of the organization in a historical and political context, including the heartfelt and sensitive portrayals of key members."

Up With People made the production possible visually by providing lots of archival footage of the cast. But Storey says she refused any money from UWP or from anyone related to the group in order to maintain editorial integrity for the documentary.

To give you some flavor for the production, here's the promotional trailer and some other clips from the documentary, courtesy of YouTube....

You probably saw some familar names and faces in those excerpts, including Linda Blackmore Cates in several of the interviews and Wanda Ricks Horrell in some of the film footage. If they are reading this blog, I hope they will share any thoughts they have about the documentary by clicking on the comments link below. Or they can e-mail their thoughts to me if they'd like them shared on this blog.

From the chatter I have read on various UWP-alumni related web sites, blogs and chat rooms, reaction is decidely mixed to the documentary. Some believe it's a hatchet job. Others say it is on the whole a balanced account. Of course, most folks, including me, haven't seen the whole documentary, and it's probably not a good idea to form any opinions based on just viewing the promotional trailer and a few other excerpts.

But please feel free to leave any comments or thoughts you have below, or if you have my e-mail address, send them to me direct.

Frankly, when I first heard the title "Smile 'Til It Hurts", it made me laugh. That's because it reminded me of a comment we received when we asked for cast members' memories of being in Sing Out as a part of our preparation for our Sing-Out South Cast Reunion back in 1989.

Denise Whitehead Pound sent in this classic: "I remember some of us putting nail polish on our teeth while on stage so we would remember to always keep smiling."

Talk about smile 'til it hurts!

If you google the title of the documentary, you will find "Smile Til It Hurts" has a web site and a blog site. You can also find it on Facebook and Lee Storey is now available to be followed and communicated with on Twitter.

Some of the reviews the documentary are getting are also posted there, including one from the recent pullquote festival. After a lengthy discussion of all the issues brought up in the film, the critic (identified as cintrix in a posting on June 9) wrote the following:

"Ultimately, what's remarkable and endless engrossing about SMILE is how many of the participants who appear in the doc still cite their time in the troupe as not simply life-changing but positive."

"A final word of warning if you manage to see SMILE (and you should): Good luck getting those earnest, catchy, campy songs---"Which Way. America?" and "What Color is God's Skin?" out of your head."

I don't know about you, but it's nice to hear that these songs still pack a punch so many years later :) and that some of the UWP folks from our day (including some with strong Sing Out South connections) have recently performed a show in Branson, MO where the spirit of Sing Out and Up With People was back on display, at least for one weekend.

More about that in our next posting.