Recollections - January Photos Revealed

The two photos with the red and white backdrop were taken at D.A.R. Constitution Hall. The one with Kelly in the red dress was taken at one of our summer concerts at the Sylvan Theater, located at the base of the Washington Monument. If my memory serves me correctly, Kelly had been selected to be the feature soloist for the upcoming spring tour and the Band leadership gave authorization to have an arrangement done for her. I was extremely surprised and honored when she asked me to be her sidekick in this endeavor. After all, the two roles were usually done with an alto and a baritone, not an alto and tenor. Part of the fun was to find keys for each song that would work for both of us. Former bandsman Chief Master Sgt. (Ret.) Chuck Sayre was commissioned to write the arrangement. We had a lot of fun putting this together and performing it with the Concert Band. I hope folks enjoyed it as much as we did.

I remember requesting a distinct order in which the songs should be arranged. That way, we could tell the story through the music in the order in which it unfolded. Annie wanted a husband but was lamenting her fate ("You Can't Get a Man with a Gun"), then Frank was dreaming about the kind of woman he wanted ("The Girl That I Marry"). Frank and Annie meet and the sparks fly through competition ("Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better") and then they realize that they were meant for each other ("They Say That Falling In Love Is Wonderful").

At this point, Chief Pearson suggested that we incorporate a song from the Broadway musical version of Annie Get Your Gun even though it was not in the movie musical version. The song was "Old Fashioned Wedding." It's a great partner song and shows Annie's obsession with having things her way and Frank's desire to be traditional. It was my favorite song in the medley because it was unfamiliar to the audience, revealed a great deal about the characters, and propelled the story. Of course, we ended with "There's No Business Like Show Business."

However, one of my favorite memories was during my solo, "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun." One of the last lines in the song was "For a man may be hot but he's not when he's shot." Right after that, the percussion section was supposed to do a rim shot from the snare drum, or do a "shot" sound. Because there were pranksters, such as Master Sgt. (Ret.) Aubrey Adams, I was never sure they would actually do a "shot" sound. During one final performance on tour, Aubrey did a "goose" call. It was all I could do to not bust out laughing. The audience was howling and I shot a snide look to Aubrey to stay in character. But all the while, I was snickering on the inside. The unpredictable manner of The USAF Band kept things interesting for both the performer and the audience.