My husband loooooves the Indianapolis 500 (along with a kazillion other sports fans), but the draw for me is sitting with my feet up, cup of coffee in hand and a kleenex to dry the tears as Jim Nabors sings his now famous, "Back Home In Indiana."
Nabors has sung the song since 1972...and the first time he was not sure of the words so he "pulled a Palin." Yes, he wrote the words on his hand.
http://sports.yahoo.com/...
Anyway, the track brought in stars to sing the tune, just like guest artists doing the National Anthem. Mel Torme, Dinah Shore and other entertainers whose names are all but forgotten now took their turns.
Then in 1972, Jim Nabors stepped up. And nothing was ever the same again, for him or for the race.
The obvious knock on Nabors, who's from Alabama, was his "Gomer Pyle" role, where he played a bumbling military country bumpkin. But when he opened his mouth to sing, lo, the voice of an angel burst forth:Nabors now lives in Hawaii but returns to the race almost every year he's able. In 1994, just months after undergoing a liver transplant, he attended the race, accompanied by his doctor. When he's been too ill to make the trip, as in 2007, he's appeared on video screens and encouraged the crowd to sing along. He plans to be there again this year, and there won't be a dry Indiana eye in the house.
http://www.jimnabors.com/...
Jim told the story of the first time he sang the song, which was in 1972, when he was here as a guest of Mr. Bill Harrah, and thought he was merely going to see the race. Track owner, Mr. Anton "Tony" Hulman, Jr., approached Jim before the opening ceremonies and said "Would you like to sing the song?" Believing that Mr. Hulman meant the Star Spangled Banner, Jim said, "Well, sure, OK." He was a bit taken aback when the Purdue University Band director told him that the song he’d be singing was Back Home Again in Indiana. He knew the song, having heard it all his life, but he wasn’t sure of the words. So he wrote them on one of his hands. Without an intro of any kind, let alone a rehearsal, he sang it. He’s been doing it for most of the last 37 years, missing only 7 times.
Some things bring you joy, this is one of them for me.