Jim Nabors Sings "Back Home Again in Indiana
Unless one is either a true open wheel race fan, or is from Indianapolis - or both - it is difficult to imagine what it is like at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend each year.
A crowd estimated at between 350,000 to 450,000 jam into that huge 2-1/2 mile oval and thrill to the sounds of 33 powerful engines as they roar around the track.
That's one side of the coin.
The other, as it is true for me, centers around the opening ceremonies.
They are the best of any sports event anywhere in the world.
Tried and true, keeping to the same specific schedule year after year, it is part of what makes it so meaningful - that of knowing what's about to take place and when.
It's tradition at its very finest.
The song - "Back Home Again in Indiana" - has been sung by a lot of people over the course of the years (from 1946 to the present).
But in 1972, while visiting the race with a friend, Jim Nabors was asked to sing the song.
It was not long before time for the song, when Mr.
Anton (Tony) Hulman, then owner of the IMS, approached Jim and said, "Hey, would you like to sing the song?" Thinking that Mr.
Hulman meant the Star Spangled Banner, Jim replied, "Well, sure, okay.
" (Amazing.
Most singers wouldn't stand up before 10 people and sing without a rehearsal, let alone hundreds of thousands of people.
) But the song in question was "Back Home Again in Indiana.
" Without an introduction, or a rehearsal, Jim climbed a ladder (the stage for this part of the ceremonies at the time), wrote the lyrics on one of his hands so as not to muff them, and sang the song to the delight of the crowd.
For most of the last 38 years, he has done so since.
As IMS Historian, Donald Davidson, said in an interview some years ago, "The first time he did it, I remember a lot of people saying, 'Oh, yeah, Gomer.
What's he doing here? People didn't know he could sing.
'" (They sure did after that!) Before Jim sang it, it had been kind of a last minute thing to find someone to sing "Back Home Again in Indiana.
" That all changed once Jim Nabors sang the song.
It was an immediate success, and he has been asked to do it ever since.
He's been able to comply 32 of the last 38 years.
Before the start of the 2009 race, in an interview with a group of reporters, Jim smiled when told by one of the reporters that he is "part of the lore of the Indy 500.
" Yes, he is.
Traditions are often wonderful.
This is one of the best.
I have often said that "Back Home Again in Indiana" is "my song.
" I have loved it always.
But, of course, truthfully, I know I share it with the thousands in attendance at the race each year, and the millions around the world who listen on the radio or watch the race coverage on television.
Jim used to say that the thunderous cheering that occurs when he is announced and sings is for the "tradition of the song.
" Reiterating what I've said elsewhere - No, dear Jim, it is not.
You are seldom wrong about things, but in this case, you are.
No one else has gotten the kind of response you do, no one ever will.
A crowd estimated at between 350,000 to 450,000 jam into that huge 2-1/2 mile oval and thrill to the sounds of 33 powerful engines as they roar around the track.
That's one side of the coin.
The other, as it is true for me, centers around the opening ceremonies.
They are the best of any sports event anywhere in the world.
Tried and true, keeping to the same specific schedule year after year, it is part of what makes it so meaningful - that of knowing what's about to take place and when.
It's tradition at its very finest.
The song - "Back Home Again in Indiana" - has been sung by a lot of people over the course of the years (from 1946 to the present).
But in 1972, while visiting the race with a friend, Jim Nabors was asked to sing the song.
It was not long before time for the song, when Mr.
Anton (Tony) Hulman, then owner of the IMS, approached Jim and said, "Hey, would you like to sing the song?" Thinking that Mr.
Hulman meant the Star Spangled Banner, Jim replied, "Well, sure, okay.
" (Amazing.
Most singers wouldn't stand up before 10 people and sing without a rehearsal, let alone hundreds of thousands of people.
) But the song in question was "Back Home Again in Indiana.
" Without an introduction, or a rehearsal, Jim climbed a ladder (the stage for this part of the ceremonies at the time), wrote the lyrics on one of his hands so as not to muff them, and sang the song to the delight of the crowd.
For most of the last 38 years, he has done so since.
As IMS Historian, Donald Davidson, said in an interview some years ago, "The first time he did it, I remember a lot of people saying, 'Oh, yeah, Gomer.
What's he doing here? People didn't know he could sing.
'" (They sure did after that!) Before Jim sang it, it had been kind of a last minute thing to find someone to sing "Back Home Again in Indiana.
" That all changed once Jim Nabors sang the song.
It was an immediate success, and he has been asked to do it ever since.
He's been able to comply 32 of the last 38 years.
Before the start of the 2009 race, in an interview with a group of reporters, Jim smiled when told by one of the reporters that he is "part of the lore of the Indy 500.
" Yes, he is.
Traditions are often wonderful.
This is one of the best.
I have often said that "Back Home Again in Indiana" is "my song.
" I have loved it always.
But, of course, truthfully, I know I share it with the thousands in attendance at the race each year, and the millions around the world who listen on the radio or watch the race coverage on television.
Jim used to say that the thunderous cheering that occurs when he is announced and sings is for the "tradition of the song.
" Reiterating what I've said elsewhere - No, dear Jim, it is not.
You are seldom wrong about things, but in this case, you are.
No one else has gotten the kind of response you do, no one ever will.
