To some, Super Bowl half-time is a big deal

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To some, Super Bowl half-time is a big deal

Wed, 02/10/2021 - 03:04
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Well, Super Bowl LV is over and I really don’t want to talk about it. It isn’t a news bulletin anymore that Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs soundly. That’s been plastered all over the TV news and has been discussed and cussed over and over again on social media. I don’t want to talk about it much, because my team lost. But trying to put all bias aside, I must admit that the best team on Sunday night won the game. It is only a small comfort that Kansas City won when the two teams played seven weeks ago. The fact is the Chiefs lost when the big money was on the line.

In some of the comments I heard today, one of the analysts reported that in his opinion, this year’s half-time show was near the top of the list of worst ever such performances. I didn’t see this year’s show, so am not prepared to offer an opinion about how good it was. But that comment brought to mind what has been true for a long time--the TV commercials and the half-time show are why some folks watch the Super Bowl.

I have never been big on watching the half-time shows. I would guess that I have missed about 50 of the 55 shows. But in the depths of my memory system it seems like the halftime show at the first Super Bowl was some college marching band. I decided to check it out, to see if I could determine exactly what did happen at the intermission of Super Bowl I.

Turns out that I was correct. The half-time show for Super Bowl I consisted of the University of Arizona Symphonic Marching Band, the Grambling State University March Band and the Anaheim High School Ana-Hi Steppers Drill Team and Flag Girls. Jazz legend Al Hirt did accompany the Grambling band on a couple of numbers. The music played was “The Sound of Music”, “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans Medley,” with Hirt playing in “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “Bugler’s Holiday” (again with Hirt); “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie,” “William Tell Overture,” “The Liberty Bell March,” “Marching Along Together,” and “This Is My Country,” which included the USC Chorus singing along.

If you don’t remember, the first Super Bowl was played in the Coliseum in Los Angeles and wasn’t sold out. Green Bay easily defeated the Chiefs (ouch) in that game.

The Orange Bowl in Miami was the host for Super Bowls II and III. The Grambling band was back for II and Florida A&M University’s band plus a number of Miami area high school bands did the half-time show.

Super Bowl IV saw a transition from marching bands to name entertainers. Hirt was back, but also Doc Severinson, Carol Channing, Lionel Hampton and Marguerite Piazza were there in a tribute to Mardi Gras. Naturally, as you might expect, the game was played in New Orleans.

The Southeast Missouri State Band was the main performer at the next Super Bowl, but Super Bowl VI was back in New Orleans and a tribute to Louis Armstrong was the featured show. Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Hirt and the US Air Force Academy Chorale were on hand to entertain.

In going down the list of half-time performers (I am not going to list each one), I see that the concept of marching bands wasn’t totally abandoned. Several bands, including the University of Michigan, University of Florida and Florida State marching bands had shows down the line. The singing group “Up with People” did several Super Bowl shows.

George Burns, Mickey Rooney and Disney Characters were involved in a salute to the 100th Anniversary of Hollywood in 1987. Of course this game was in Los Angeles. I think the idea of having a blockbuster entertainment show featuring a really big star got going well in 1993 when Michael Jackson did the entire performance. Diana Ross was the headliner a few years later. The Blues Brothers with Jim Belushi instead of John did a show and a group of entertainers, including Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, The Temptations, Queen Latifah and the Grambling band performed a tribute to Motown’s 40th Anniversary.

In 2004, the infamous incident where Janet Jackson had a wardrobe malfunction while performing with Justin Timberlake took place in Houston. Like most years, I wasn’t watching at the time and would have missed it all hadn’t it been replayed ad nauseam in the days to come. It was always doubtful that the incident was totally accidental and it hurt both the careers of Timberlake and Janet Jackson, at least for a couple of years. What has been lost in people’s memories is that Jessica Simpson, P. Diddy, Nelly and Kid Rock also were part of that show.

I do remember watching (on purpose) the 2005 show, which featured Paul McCartney. Being a child of the 50s and 60s, I have always been a fan of Sir Paul. He didn’t disappoint when he sang “Live and Let Die,” and “Hey Jude.”

I missed the Rolling Stones the next year and Prince the year after. One reviewer of these things has rated Prince’s show as the very best of all 55 halftime performances. Likewise the same reviewer has rated the 2011 show featuring the Black Eyed Peas as being the very worst.

In more recent times, Madonna and Beyonce were the back-to-back headliners in 2012 and 2013. I didn’t mind missing Madonna, but in retrospect would have liked to hear Beyonce. I believe her to be a talented performer. Lady Gaga, of whom I have gained an appreciation for in more recent years, did the show in 2017. As usual, I missed the show, but I have been told by some of her fans that it was an exceptional half-time. Maroon 5 performed in 2019, and I made a special effort to hear some of the music. Because of his longtimestint on the “Voice” I have become a fan of Maroon’s Adam Levine. I wasn’t aware until it was over that Shakira and Jennifer Lopez did the 2020 show. I like both of them, but was a bit disappointed when I viewed videos of the performance.

All of this brought to mind the half-time shows that took place at my old high school. The band would march out on the field, line up and play one or possibly two numbers. No marching was involved. In my eighth grade year I played in the percussion section and my claim to fame was playing the cymbals for the song “Round and Round.” There was only time when the cymbals played in that piece and when it came time for me to do my thing, I missed the note. There were no do overs--just like Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson found in 2004.