A concert of American music to salute our military Veterans.
Special guests:
Melissa Mitchell; SGT MC Potts; 1SG Richard Lutz
Master of Ceremonies, MSgt (ret) Kevin R. McNulty
Feature Pianist, Kelli Cox
Over there Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band
Yankee Doodle Dandy/You’re a Grand Old Flag George M. Cohan
In the Mood Glenn Miller (Maj, USA)
American Patrol Glenn Miller
Moonlight Serenade Glenn Miller
God Bless America Irving Berlin
Melissa Mitchell, Soloist
Sing, Sing, Sing Louis Prima
Theme from M*A*S*H* Johnny Mandel
I’ll Be Seeing You Sammy Fain
MC Potts, Soloist
Almost Like Being In Love Frederick Loewe
MC Potts, Soloist
INTERMISSION
Flying Home Lionel Hampton
Ballad of the Green Berets SSG Barry Sadler
Sung by band members w/drum
Wonderful World Bob Thiele
Bridge Over Troubled Water Paul Simon
Melissa Mitchell, Soloist
Stars and Stripes John Philip Sousa
Armed Forces Salute Traditional
God Bless the USA Lee Greenwood
Richard Lutz, Soloist
1SG Richard Lutz
As a member of the 129th Army Band Richard Lutz has represented the state of Tennessee and the Tennessee Army National Guard proudly and retired as First Sergeant on December 31st of 2018. He was a member of the 129th Army Band for 42 years. Along with his military service Lutz has been a teacher in the Rutherford County School system for 30.
Lutz has served 3 bandmasters W5 John T. Wade, Maj Thad Perry, and W3 William Stepp. He has played at two World’s Fairs: Knoxville TN., 1982 and New Orleans LA. in 1984. He performed with the band in Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as concert locations and military installations across the Eastern United States. He has performed in the marching band for Presidents Carter, and Reagan. He marched in the Clinton, Gore Presidential Inaugural Parade. He has also performed for every Tennessee governor’s inauguration since Lamar Alexander.
On two occasions, he played with the Concert and Jazz Bands for the US Ambassador of Columbia, South America. Similarly, he performed in Izmir, Turkey in support of NATO. He has performed twice with the 129th for the U.S. Military Academy at Trophy Point and once at Ft. Monroe, Virginia when the 129th backfilled for the West Point, TRADOC Bands. As a member of the 129th Army Band he was called to active duty in support of Operation Desert Storm.
Lutz has performed the National Anthem for Veterans’ Appreciation Day twice for The Nashville Predators, and numerous times for the annual Andrew Jackson wreath laying ceremony at the Hermitage. He has received constant support and understanding of his job responsibilities from his wife, Trish. They have been married for 37 years, and have 2 grown children, Richard C. Lutz III and Samantha Lutz Sewell. Sammy lives in Orlando with her husband Branden, and Ricky and his wife Liza Lutz live in Christiana.
1SG Lutz, retired is a graduate of Stratford High School, class of ’75 and Tennessee Technological University class of 1980. He has been a High School Band Director for 38 years and is currently in his 19th year as Director of bands at Smyrna High School.
MC Potts
After moving to Nashville from New York City in 1992, MC embarked on a 20 year career as a singer/songwriter. She signed her first publishing deal with Lee Greenwood shortly after arriving in Nashville, followed by a record deal with BMG in 1996. MC scored 3 top ten singles from her Straight to You record and a nomination for Female Star of Tomorrow for the TNN/Music City News Awards in 1997 along with LeeAnn Rimes, Deana Carter and Jo Dee Messina. The first single from her sophomore effort, I’m So Sorry, peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart and the video landed in CMT’s Hot Country Videos from 1997. MC has toured extensively around the US and abroad, opening for such acts as LeeAnn Rimes, the Doobie Brothers, 38 Special, Vince Gill and others. MC has had the pleasure of playing repeatedly at the Grand Ole’ Opry, The Ryman Auditorium, the Jerry Lewis Telethon and the People’s Choice Awards. She returned to military service in 2008 to continue her education and is the co-founder of a successful media company in Nashville which is in development on a new TV series and a PBS documentary.
Melissa Mitchell
Vocalist and US Air Force Veteran Melissa Mitchell comes from a military family—to which her grandfather, father, brother, and uncles were all served in various military branches. Melissa started singing early in her childhood and at age 14 she earned a prestigious vocal scholarship to New York Military Academy. In 1980, she enlisted into the US Air Force and became an Aerospace Physiological Training Instructor. Soon thereafter, she was stationed at Wiesbaden Airbase, Germany. While in Germany she was selected as a lead vocalist to tour with a military, and USO style, musical showcase and toured throughout Europe entertaining the troops. In 1983, after a rigorous and highly competitive process, Melissa was selected to tour with the Air Force Entertainment showcase, “Tops in Blue.” As a member of this elite performance ensemble she performed throughout the U.S. and to 20 countries performing for military members and their families—as well as other notable venues including Caesars Palace, Disney World, and major national festivals. After leaving the Air Force, Melissa eventually settled in Brentwood, TN with her husband [and drummer] James and their three children. Melissa has continued her professionally singing career with several Nashville-based bands including her current band the MoTones.
Program Notes
The first song in tonight’s program, “You’re a grand old Flag,” was written in 1906 as a tribute to the American Flag by George M. Cohan for his stage musical George Washington, Jr. The original lyric for this perennial favorite came from an encounter he had with a Civil War Veteran who fought at Gettysburg. The two men found themselves next to each other and Cohan noticed the vet held a carefully folded, but ragged old flag. The man reportedly then turned to Cohan and said, “she’s a grand old rag.” Cohan thought it was a great lyric and originally named his tune, “You’re a Grand old Rag.” So many objected that he switched the word to “flag.”
Several pieces of tonight’s program were composed by the great Glenn Miller. Miller was a talented trombonist, bandleader, and composer. He was also a Major in the United States Army serving from 1942 to 1944. While at the peak of his civilian career, Miller joined the war effort, forsaking an income of nearly $20,000 per week. Since he was too old to be drafted, he wrote to Brig Gen Charles Young and persuading him to place him (Miller) in charge of a modernized Army Band. His patriotic intention of entertaining the Allied Forces with the fusion of virtuosity and dance rhythms in his music earned him the rank of captain, and he was soon promoted to major in August 1944. Major Glenn Miller was listed as Missing In Action after his plane went over the English Channel Dec 15, 1944.
“The Ballad of the Green Berets” song was written by Army SSG Barry Sadler. Sadler was a medic assigned to the U.S. Army Special Forces Green Berets (7th Group). He recorded the song in December of 1965 and later became the title song of the movie “The Green Berets,” starring John Wayne. In 1984 Sadler moved to Guatemala City, Guatemala to continue writing and publishing his successful Casca books. In Sept 1988, some believed that Sadler accidentally shot himself and after several years of recovering in various VA hospitals, he was brought to the VA Hospital in Murfreesboro, TN where he died on Nov 5, 1989.
John Philip Sousa wrote in his autobiography, Marching Along, that he composed the march “Stars and Stripes Forever” on Christmas Day 1896. It was first performed in Philadelphia in 1897 and was immediately greeted with enthusiasm. In 1987, an act of the US Congress named the song the official National March of the United States of America. The “Stars and Stripes Forever” is considered Sousa’s magnum opus.