Curator Note: I hadn't heard this version of the theme song and I'm not sure I fully comprehend the nuclear explosion that takes place in the middle of this video, but this is "one for the archives." MSC
Originally Uploaded on Jun 24, 2009
by P. Colwel, R.Colwell, 1969, Pace / Buddah Records, PS 6100.
If you haven't already figured it out, Up With People is from the album Up with People. The back cover reads:
"It was the year of youth. Nineteen hundred and sixty-five exploded with demonstrations, involvement and a new national interest. An era of meaning, excitement and discovery. A new sound was born.
"Into the heart of it came a powerful vibrant group. They sought to express through music a format of motivation which would propel people into the 70's. They called themselves, 'Up With People.'
"Their achievements were unprecedented. One cast grew rapidly into three. They spanned the globe playing to live audiences numbering a million each year. They were seen in Spanish bullrings, on Korean borders and tropical Kinshasa boulevards, at the Hollywood Bowl. They were welcomed by Vatican priests, European heads of state as well as college students throughout the world. They rode the theme float of the Inaugural Parade in 1969 and presented two national television specials in the U.S.
"Their audiences are young old, poor and famous. They crowd darkened halls, stand in streets or sit in front of their sets participating in the explosive musical experience which is Up With People. The audiences rock with it, toe-tap with it, sing with it and share with the cast the spirit of the space age. The show only lasts a couple of hours, but the spark of motivation stays long after the performers have left the halls, the homes and the towns.
"The students who compose (sic) Up With People have developed their own traveling high school and college. They create continuously and the show evolves constantly. They created this album.
"The basic vocal and musical background is provided by the H.J. Chucktim Smithfields, led by Frank Fields. This core of six from the casts have written words such as:
'I'm thinking / I'm thinking about the days ahead / Way past my days / A long, long time from now.'
and many more. They also wrote and perform 'It's Happening, You Are What You Do and I Get a Kick Out of Life.'
"Linda Blackmore, a star in the show, sings: 'Sunsets come to paint the sky / New life begins with a baby's cry / Bringing a hope that will never die / And the wonder of it all.'
"She and her fiancee wrote the song.
"It's all part of the Up With People phenomena!"
And so it is with today, we are all still "UP" with "People!"
