Memories of a Young American

February 11, 2009 10:43 pm

— VALDOSTA — The announcement that the Young Americans were coming to town prompted many young Valdostans to register for this week’s workshops and show. For Grant Brown, Valdosta, the announcement brought back memories of his days as a Young American.
Between 1964-66, the teenage Grant Brown and his fellow Young Americans performed with Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Bob Hope, Julie Andrews, Vic Damone, and George Burns.
He recalls George Burns taking several members of the group on a tour. Typically, Brown and the Young Americans performed back-up for stars on TV shows, such as backing Andy Williams on one of his Christmas specials.
“They told us the camera represented 30 million people,” Brown says this week. “That’s kind of intimidating.”
Brown’s fellow teens with the Young Americans included Vicki Lawrence before she rose to fame on “The Carol Burnett Show,” sang “The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia,” and starred as the title character in “Mama’s Family.” He has a photograph he snapped of Lawrence getting an autograph from Julie Andrews.
Brown plans to share his memories of being a Young American with the current group of Young Americans who begin workshops today at the Valdosta High School Performing Arts Center.
The Young Americans Outreach Tour is scheduled to work with area youth today through Saturday, with a public performance Saturday night. Rebecca Mullican, Valdosta High School choral director, arranged the Young Americans’ Valdosta visit, one stop on a nationwide tour.
The Young Americans is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1962. The group is credited with initiating the show choir movement.
Through nearly 50 years, the Young Americans have performed with Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Dean Martin. In the 1970s and ’80s, the group traveled to spots around the Pacific: Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Korea. A documentary on the group won an Oscar. In the 1990s, the group founded the National Music Outreach Tours, “in which they go into our nation’s schools and work directly with our youth,” Mullican has said. The Valdosta stop follows this pattern.
In Brown’s day, the Young Americans was strictly a performance group. Growing up in Los Angeles, Brown answered an audition call for the Young Americans. He auditioned with 1,200 other youths. Producers chose 30, including Grant Brown.
The group had an intense schedule, with members traveling with the Young Americans about one out of every three weeks of school. But organizers wanted the teenagers to have as normal a life as possible. If a school had a show, producers would not allow a teen to leave the school production for a Young Americans performance.
Brown says he is not one who saves many mementos, but he does have some reminders of his days with the Young Americans. There are photos, a mimeographed program, and the two albums he recorded with the Young Americans, one of which features Grant Brown seated with his hand on Vicki Lawrence’s shoulder.
The impact has remained with him throughout his life: working as a music director with churches, teaching voice and working as a junior high teacher, performing and directing with Theatre Guild Valdosta, and organizing the Azalea Festival for the past few years.
Yet, being a Young American gave him more.
“I’m sure all of us who were with the group in those days gained self-confidence,” Brown says, “the ability to adapt to changing situations around us, a personal perspective that only travel can bring, and a knowledge of the business aspect of show business, to name a few.”
The Young Americans, along with numerous Valdosta children and youth, are scheduled to present a public performance, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Valdosta High School Performing Arts Center, off North Forrest Street. Tickets: $8, adult; $5, student, child. More info on the workshops or the show, contact Rebecca Mullican (229) 333-8540, ext. 4091.

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