'Best of the best' 75 years recognized
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Broadcasting continuously for 75 years since radio's infancy, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has now been recognized by that industry as being among "the best of the best" with the induction April 20 of its weekly program "Music and the Spoken Word" into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
The honor came during the 2004 convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, where the 360-voice choir entertained some 1,100 gathered at the Las Vegas Hilton for the convention's Radio Luncheon. The honor places the program alongside such luminaries and programs as Bob Hope, Paul Harvey, Charles Osgood, Arthur Godfrey and "The Grand Ole Opry."
In a recorded video tribute narrated by broadcasting icon Walter Cronkite, the history of the choir was summarized from 1867, when it first performed in the newly completed Salt Lake Tabernacle.
"The choir's fame spread, and on Monday, July 15, 1929, using a borrowed microphone, the first broadcast of what would later become known as 'Music and the Spoken Word' originated from the Tabernacle on Temple Square," Cronkite said. "Salt Lake City radio station KSL ran a wire from its control room to an amplifier more than a block away in the Salt Lake Tabernacle" and 19-year-old announcer Ted Kimball was obliged to climb a step ladder to speak into the single microphone placed high enough to capture the choir sound.
In 1930, announcer Richard L. Evans added a "spoken word" feature to the program, the narrator said. "Evans was the original host, and he delivered the inspirational messages for more than 40 years," succeeded by J. Spencer Kinard and then by today's announcer, Lloyd Newell.
The tribute highlighted some memorable "spoken words" that have brought comfort in times of national crisis: World War II, the Kennedy assassination in 1963, the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 and the devastation from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"When people hear and see the Tabernacle Choir, they are overcome by the beauty of the music, but they are really overcome by the beauty of the people and the spirit that just flows out," musical director Craig Jessop said in the recorded tribute. "And I think they feel that love of Christ and they see in their eyes and they see it in the countenance of their faces."
In a brief acceptance speech following the video recording, choir president Mac Christensen brought laughter from the professional broadcasters by saying, "Thanks to all of you that are carrying 'Music and the Spoken Word' and to all of you that are going to carry 'Music and the Spoken Word.' "
Director Jessop also responded with brief remarks, noting: "These singers of today represent literally thousands of singers through the years that have donated unselfishly of their time and talents to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I think of my colleagues who have preceded me: Anthony Lund, who did the first broadcast July 15, 1929, succeeded by Spencer Cornwall, who conducted the choir for 18 years; Richard Condie, who conducted the choir for 19 years; Jay Welch, and Jerold Ottley, who conducted the choir for 25 years. All of these great men gave countless hundreds of thousands of hours of time in programming and planning."
He said the broadcast is much the same today as in the beginning and is one of the few live music programs left today.
To increasingly warm applause, including three standing ovations, the choir presented a sampling of its repertoire: "America the Beautiful," "The Battle of Jericho," "Climb Every Mountain," and "Battle Hymn of the Republic," ending with "God Be with You Till We Meet Again." Some in the audience could be heard singing along with "Battle Hymn," familiar to millions from the choir's 1959 Grammy-award winning recording.
Announcer Newell noted that the first time the choir came to Las Vegas was in 1935 "though it wasn't this particular Tabernacle Choir." And, he said, the choir performed at the NAB convention of 1978. He asked those in the audience who had been present then to raise their hands; about 100 did so.
With a "spoken word" style and tone, he told of an antique radio he owns, a gift from his mother, that is still functional. "For me, it is a visual and aural link between the early years of 'Music and the Spoken Word' and today. In my mind's eye I can see my forebears of two generations gathered in the old clapboard farmhouse" in Idaho listening to the program. "Like a trusted friend, the familiar refrains were invited into their home."
The choir's influence was felt earlier in the convention, at its opening session, when soloist Laura Garff Lewis, a choir member, presented the national anthem.
After the induction ceremony, that evening the choir and members of the Orchestra at Temple Square presented a concert at the Orleans Arena, a fund-raising benefit for the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation.
At a VIP gathering prior to the concert, the chairman of the Clark County Commission and mayors from Las Vegas and the neighboring cities of North Las Vegas, Henderson and Mesquite presented proclamations honoring the choir and recognizing this anniversary year.
During the concert Brother Newell said this is the choir's seventh appearance in Las Vegas, although this was the first occasion for the general public, the other performances being for conventions.
E-mail to: rscott@desnews.com
