It was 40 years ago this summer (1976) when several of us kids that grew up at First Baptist Church Henderson Kentucky learned and sang the children’s musical about our country “Let George Do It“.
We did the musical all over town as a part of the 1976 bicentennial celebrations. We were in quite demand for a bunch of children singers and actors.
“Let George Do It” is a children’s unison and two-part musical featuring George Washington and King George III.
It was so appropriate that we do it in 1976 since that was the 200th birthday of the United States of American.`
One of the songs, G-E-O-R-G-E Washington, featured these words:
First in War, first in Peace, first in the hearts of his country men. Let George do it he is the man of the hour.
The songs spelled out George Washington’s name G E O R G E W A S H I N G . . when you got 2000 pounds you got a T O N! The United States was 200 years old in 1976.
It was a whimsical musical with unison children’s parts. I guess that is one reason I enjoyed so much because – I could actually sing the soprano part and get away with it.
We learned the music early in June 1976 when we went away to camp (we called it back then Junior Music Camp). This year was particular different, since we didn’t go to Cedarmore (Baptist Camp in Bagdad KY) we went to a camp that was just us First Baptist Henderson KY kids (we were a big group). It was Camp Reveal on the north side of Evansville Indiana.
We had several highly accomplished musicians and actors with us. People like Kenny Butler and Lonnie Klein came with us as chaperones. My mom Mary Elizabeth Priest and Janie Coursey came as cooks.
Merrilyn Smith was our pianist and did accompany most of the children’s choir musicals. She really had the mojo for this particular musical, since she has an incredible flair for ragtime blues music. Of course, her daughter Shelly had one of the singing parts too.
My grandmother Elizabeth Hancock as well as other seamstresses in the church (Alice Langston and Eleanor Eades) made some exquisite costumes for this musical. My mother kept mine for many years and loaded it out one time to and never saw it returned.
What do you remember about the FBC kids doing “Let George Do It” in 1976? Who were some of the kids that had leading roles?
originally posted 7/4/11
