Sing-Out '66 Returns To Middle Tennessee

We've talked before about what a tremendous impact Sing-Out '66 had when it came to Nashville in January, 1966. Hundreds of young people, galvanized by the performances they'd witnessed, flocked to join the local spin-off group, Sing-Out South.

On a snowy Sunday afternoon, February 27, 1966 (44 years ago),Sing-Out '66 made its first return visit to Tennessee for a performance on the campus of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. Four full busloads of Sing-Out South members, with others traveling in private cars(over 250 people total), came over from Nashville for the show.

According to a story in THE NASHVILLE BANNER, the costs for the buses were underwritten by Nashville Mayor Beverly Briley, while Tennessee Governor Frank Clement made a surprise appearance on stage at Tennessee Tech to introduce the cast.

With all that kind of support, political and otherwise, it was, to say the least, an exciting afternoon, especially when Sing-Out South took the stage for an encore with the national cast at the end of the show. So much excitement was generated in the audience that soon a Sing Out Smithville/DeKalb County was formed.

Another reason this show at Tennessee Tech remains important is that I believe it was this performance that played a major role in the Tennessee Tech Quartet (seen above) Joe Capers, Ken Ashby, Dick Smith & Lee Piepmeier joining, first, Sing-Out South, and then on to Up With People where they were all leaders in the national casts for several years afterwards.

The photo above was taken when the group performed as a part of "The Best of South" segment in the premiere performances of Sing-Out South at Hillsboro High School on March 25-26, 1966. I have a program from those shows, but unfortunately they do not relate what songs the Quartet performed.

A First Of Its Kind In Nashville?

In our last posting, we talked about the significant role college students in Nashville played in the national civil rights movement of the early 1960s, especially the integration of lunch counters and other public facilities through non-violent sit-ins and other demonstrations.

Sing-Out South came along a few years later (beginning in January, 1966) and while what we did was nothing nearly so historic or broad-reaching, I do believe the cast made something of a contribution in this area.

From what I know of Nashville history, Sing-Out South was one of the first, if not the first, citywide youth organization that was open to both whites and blacks. Remember most schools (except for the Catholic parochial schools) were still strictly segregated. In fact, the first basketball game between a black (Pearl) and a white (Father Ryan) team had just been played the winter before (1965) and Ryan had the first black player in local Nashville Interscholastic League (N.I.L.) a few years before that.

The number of minorities participating in Sing-Out South was never large. Reviewing the cast roster printed in THE NASHVILLE BANNER, on March 26, 1966 (during our premiere performances at Hillsboro High School) it appears (from what school they were listed as attending) that 13 of the 184 cast members were black. TSU had 6 students in the cast, Cameron High School 5, Pearl High School and the old Haynes High School each also had a student who was a part of SOS.

And several of these cast members played prominent roles in the show.

Everytime Melvin Turner, a graduate student at Tennessee A&I (now Tennessee State University), took the stage as a part of our "Best of the South" segment, he literally stopped the show, receiving a standing ovation.

While in retrospect, a black man tap dancing on stage might seem somewhat racially stereotypical, Melvin Turner's talent was recognized by the officials of Sing-Out '66, and he was the first of many dozens SOS cast members to be offered the opportunity to travel with the national cast, going with the original Up With People cast on a tour of West Germany later in the spring of 1966.

Another minority student who played a major role in the original Sing-Out South cast was TSU graduate student, Harbin Williams, who read the dramatic "A Soldier's Letter" before our show's final song "Which Way, America?" Williams also delivered a "Speak Out" during our WSM-TV (Channel 4) "A Living Declaration" July 4th Television special.

Sing-Out South was even invited to perform on the TSU campus with a special show held in "Kean's Little Garden" on May 21, 1966.

Throughout the history of Sing-Out South there were minority cast members who played major roles, such as the late Alfred Saffell, Margaret Stokes, Dennis Cohen, Butch Hardy and, of course, Hazel Robinson, who became the lead female soloist for SOS performing such songs as "Keep Young At Heart" and "Which Way, America?".

But perhaps as much as anything else, the Sing-Out South cast made its greatest statement for racial equality, with a song that struck me deeply from the first time I heard it when Sing-Out '66 performed it here in Nashville in January,1966, and which from a quick check of the show programs I have, was performed by SOS in every show we did from 1966 to 1971. It was "What Color Is God's Skin?" Here it is courtesy of You Tube. Over 40 years later, the power of its lyrics are still profound...

A Change Gonna Come

Photos courtesy of THE TENNESSEAN

50 years ago this week, change, slow to be sure, but change neverthless, started to come to Nashville, as the lunch counter sit-ins of the civil rights movement began here.

Nashville, along with Greensboro, NC, were among the first cities involved. The efforts, largely led by local black college students, met strong white resistance, especially at first, and many of the sit-in protestors went to jail (some more than once) for their efforts to achieve the simple social justice of being able to buy a hamburger or a coke at a downtown drug store lunch counter or at the bus station.

The sit-in movement began about 6 years before Up With People first came to Nashville and Sing-Out South began. By that time, some positive change had been achieved both in Nashville and across the nation. Neverthless, it is interesting and instructive to look back on the Nashville experience with the sit-in demonstrations. Here, courtesy of WNPT's "Memories of Nashville" program and YouTube is such a retrospective....

But, as we said, progress and change was slow to come to Nashville, as witnessed by this second segment of WNPT's "Memories of Nashville" concerning Centennial Park and its public pool, which was closed, along with the rest of the city's municipal pools, rather than desegregate them (and yes,that is my voice and face you will see from time to time in this segment of the show)...

It was into this emotionally charged, uncertain, but slowly changing social environment that Up With People came to Nashville and Sing-Out South was born in 1966. More on the role Sing-Out South played in becoming one of the city's first racially-integrated groups in our next posting.

If you have memories of these times that you'd like to share, please feel free to leave them below or send to me by e-mail (pat.nolan@dvl.com) and I can share them here.

"They Are Better Than The Beatles"

It was 44 years ago today (February 5, 1966) that members of Sing-Out South performed their first show.

Now I know most of us consider our first shows to be our premiere performances at Hillsboro High School later that spring (March 25-26). But, after just a few short practices (the cast only organized and had its first practice on January 26), a group of some 18 SOS members (a task force I think it was called) went out to the Metro Muncipal Airport on Saturday evening, February 5, where they were the special entertainment at the annual Blue and Gold Banquet sponsored by Cub Scout Pack 300 of Donelson. The event was held at the Sky Chef Restaurant at the Airport.

A story in THE NASHVILLE BANNER (Febuary 7) reported it this way: "Scouts and their parents were...treated to 30-minutes of Sing-Out South and they responded with applause and appreciation. The MRA troupe created attention as they raced into the main dining room and launched immediately into "Freedom Isn't Free."

"They are better than the Beatles," added one Cub Scout."

This is Sing-Out South's first band. Note that it not only included Bill Cates on keyboard, but Ted Overman playing the drums (not bass). Now there's the answer to a great trivia question (who was the drummer at SOS's first "show?")

Another featured performer at this first show was Elwood Williams a graduate speech and drama major at what was then Tennessee A&I University. His dramatic reading of "A Soldier's Letter" before the song "Which Way, America?" drew quiet from the large crowd reported THE BANNER article.

The story also quoted other audience reaction to the SOS show from folks of all ages:

" I liked their enthusiam and thought it was very good," said 12-year old (Cub Scout) Marc Stepbach.

"One of the things that impressed me about the chorus is their looks. It's certainly a clean-cut group and one this country should be proud of," remarked E.C. Biederman, Jr. after watching the show.

Even before the Blue and Gold Banquet, SOS was wowing them at the Airport that night! Above is a picture of Tennessee U.S. Senator Albert Gore, Sr. who joined in an impromptu show with the SOS task in the main lobby of the Airport. Gore was at the banquet to be its featured speaker. Said the senior Gore (according to THE BANNER article): "I'd like to be part of an outfit like this...You people have to come to the Capitol and when you do I invite you to sing in the Rotunda."

THE BANNER article continues:" The Municipal Airport's lobby provided perfect acoustics for the lively beat of "Up, Up With People." This prompted the Senator to join in with the chorus...Several passengers waiting for flights, paused and watched....a few joined in, while others smiled their approval.

"The Tennessee Senator then asked, "Who are you and what organization do you represent?" Replied Dan Skuce (SOS Cast Director): "We are putting this together because of the enthusiasm and conviction we saw in Sing-Out '66. What is being created here will mean a new voice coming out of the South....We believe and are out to show that free men and women can be the most enthusiastic and disciplined people on this earth.]

"Then I am all for you," Gore replied."

And so it began, 44 years ago.

Up With People Holds a Super Bowl Record

As we approach our unofficial national holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday, it is interesting to note that Up With People holds a rather distinguished record as a part of this annual celebration.

Along with the game itself and the TV commercials, there is always a lot of interest and hype about who is performing the halftime show.

Since the Super Bowl began back in January of 1967 (44 games counting this Sunday), no group has been the featured performer at the Super Bowl more than Up With People. Four times it has been the headline act:

1976: Super Bowl X in Miami, FL: Theme: 200 Years and Just a Baby: A Tribute to America's Bicentennial (Steelers 21, Cowboys 17)

1980: Super Bowl XIV in Pasadena, CA: Theme: A Salute to the Big Band Era (Steelers 31, Rams 19)

1982: Super Bowl XVI in Pontiac, MI: Theme: A Salute to the 60s and Motown (49ers 26, Bengals 21)

1986: Super Bowl XX in New Orlean, LA: Theme: Beat of the Future (Bear 46, Patriots 10)

Courtesy of YouTube, here's how CBS presented Up With People's first halftime appearance along with a little first half game analysis...

Six years later in 1982, here's some of the Up With People halftime show from the Pontiac Superdome. Again this video is courtesy of YouTube....

There may be some folks who read this blog who had the opportunity to perform with UWP at one of its Super Bowl shows. If so, please share your memories below or e-mail them to me and I can share them for you here on the blog.

Like some of the Super Bowl games, there have been some who have panned the UWP Super Bowl halftime shows. But it is interesting in recent years (especially after the "wardrobe malfunction" involving Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake in 2004) how the themes for the halftimes have gone back to the 60s, featuring artists like The Rolling Stones, PaulMcCartney as well as this year's featured performers....

Now there may be many who watch this Sunday's halftime show who are too young to remember "The Who" and trying to tell them might start a new version of an Abbott and Costello comedy routine ("Who's On First"). So, here is one of the most famous performances by The Who, it occurred on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" on CBS back in the late 1960s with the band performing (appropriately) "My Generation" (to say the least it is a real BLAST courtesy of YouTube)....

And we hope all of you have a blast this Super Bowl Sunday!