History
Air Force Major Al Reilly created the Air Force Worldwide Talent Contest in 1953, and Tops In Blue began as a tour showcasing the best members of the contest performing at 230 locations in 235 days. Initially, the contest was judged in 14 categories ranging from comedy, drama, pop, jazz, hillbilly, vocal and instrumental. It was judged by celebrities like Barry White, Les Brown, Richard Roundtree, and Esther Williams. In 1954, Ed Sullivan invited Tops in blue to perform at Mitchel Air Field, NY on his show "Toast of the Town" where Airman Second Class Jerry Van Dyke led the show as Master of Ceremonies. In 1964, the Tops In Blue left the stage to record in a movie studio to produce films and records for distribution throughout the Air Force. However, in 1971 Tops in Blue gained Air Force support to return to the stage on their live tour debut in 1972.
Read more about this topic: Tops In Blue
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“We don’t know when our name came into being or how some distant ancestor acquired it. We don’t understand our name at all, we don’t know its history and yet we bear it with exalted fidelity, we merge with it, we like it, we are ridiculously proud of it as if we had thought it up ourselves in a moment of brilliant inspiration.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“Regarding History as the slaughter-bench at which the happiness of peoples, the wisdom of States, and the virtue of individuals have been victimized—the question involuntarily arises—to what principle, to what final aim these enormous sacrifices have been offered.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“Universal history is the history of a few metaphors.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)