One of Sing South's First & Biggest Supporters Has Passed Away

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Dr. Herbert C. Gabhart, the Chancellor and retired President of Belmont University has died at the age of 95.

In the early months of 1966, Dr. Gabhart was one of the strongest supporters of Sing-Out South as it was being formed. He began that support by endorsing the visit of the national cast,Sing-Out '66 to Nashville, which, in turn, which led to the formation of SOS.

Dr. Gabhart and then-Belmont College hosted the first organizational session for the cast on January 26, 1966 with nearly 600 people in attendance. Just a few days later on Saturday, January 29, 1966 Belmont hosted the first practice for Sing-Out South in Blanton Hall. Again a large crowd of over 200 people showed up despite a snowstorm which struck the city.

Dr. Gabhart's support continued through the premiere performances of Sing-Out South in March, 1966. In fact, even his daughter, the late Diana Gabhart (she passed away in 1994) was a member of the cast. She can be seen at the far right of this photo on the front row next to Bobby Johnston.

And she was not alone as far as Belmont students joining the cast. In fact, much of the early leadership of the cast came from Belmont including those featured below:

Belmont student Bill Cates was the musical director for the original cast of Sing-Out South. Seen above at an early practice session held at the old Father Ryan High School, Bill wrote many of the early signature songs for the cast including "We Volunteer", "To Build A Country", We Refuse To Go To The Dogs," and a song that is now in Baptist Hymnal, "Do You Really Care?" Bill was also a major creative force during his time with Up With People

It was the lovely voice of the late Donna Dowthitt that first gave life to "Do You Really Care?" The Belmont student was also the soloist for "Somewhere Just Beyond Tomorrow" another hit song from Sing-Out '66 which was used in many of Sing-Out South's shows.

Finally, there was Belmont student body president, Jim Troutner, seen above playing the trumpet in SOS' first outdoor show performed on the football field of old Dupont High School in May, 1996. Jim was also a major soloist in the original Sing-Out South cast, performing "Volunteers of Tennessee" and "Which Way, America?". By the way, to Jim's right, clapping her hands is Pam Jones Hazelwood who now holds the position of Executive Secretary to the Belmont University Board of Trust.

I suspect Dr. Gabhart's support of Sing-Out certainly played some role in having these students become a part of SOS. He certainly left his mark on the campus. According to his death notice in THE TENNESSEAN: "When he arrived at Belmont College in 1959, the school enrollment was 360 students. When he retired as President in 1982, Belmont's student population had grown by 500% to more than
2,000." The Belmont budget had grown from $480,000 to $8 million and nine important new buildings had been added to the campus.

After more than a half-century of involvement in the life of Belmont, Dr. Gabhart will be missed.