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Ethel Ennis in the Inaugural Spotlight

9/13/2015

7 Comments

 
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Along with the thirteen jazz events held at the White House during his administration, President Nixon invited jazz vocalist Ethel Ennis to sing the national anthem at his second inauguration ceremony on January 20, 1973. Full credit for this occurrence belongs to Vice President Agnew, however. 

Out of the blue, some two years before, the vice president, who was also the former governor of Maryland, called the singer and invited her to appear with entertainers Frank Sinatra and Danny Thomas at Maryland’s Governors Day celebration. Afterward, along with her husband and others, Ms. Ennis joined the vice president in his apartment, where she learned that not only was he a jazz aficionado, but in fact, he had all seven of her albums. Unlike Nixon, Agnew was a jazz fan (Swing era mostly), as well as a more accomplished pianist than the president. Agnew ably accompanied his favorite singer on his grand piano for the rest of the evening. 

As it turned out, this night was but a prelude to the next out-of-the blue phone call: an invitation to sing the national anthem at the Republican Convention in July, 1972, which led to the invite by the president to sing at his inauguration the following January. (1)

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Politics aside, jazz, then as now, benefits immensely when a star the caliber of an Ethel Ennis is given an opportunity to be seen and heard by millions of Americans. And shine she did, becoming the first vocalist from the world of jazz to sing the nation’s hymn in the inaugural spotlight—and the first to sing it a cappella. 

  1. Sallie Kravitz, Ethel Ennis: The Reluctant Jazz Star (Baltimore: Hughes Enterprises/Gateway Press, 1984), 83–86.
Photos courtesy of the Nixon Library, Yorba Linda, California, and the National Archives, College Park, Maryland. Digital processing by National Air Survey/Visual Image Presentations, Silver Spring, Maryland.

7 Comments
John A. Styer link
9/8/2015 10:38:26 am

Interesting!

Reply
KENNY LOURIE
9/8/2015 10:44:08 am

NOW THAT'S CLEAR: COMMENT

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alice
9/8/2015 11:03:23 pm

Hiya Ed!! Great to "hear" from you ! AND thanks for the info !!! Happy September.

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10/9/2018 01:39:26 am

All politicians will always do their best to win, that's why these kinds of surveys exist. They are making an effort to know what are the places they need to tap so that they can get a massive support from it. Instead of showing fake care to hose people, what politicians should do is to be genuine withy their words. It's pretty sad that most of the politicians nowadays do good deeds just because they want to get something in return from these actions. It's just so wrong in so many levels!

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Claudio Werner link
1/7/2019 08:49:23 pm

Great singer ,no matter which party she likes.

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Liftmaster Elite T501L5 link
10/9/2019 07:26:54 am

The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn’t disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought you’d have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you weren’t too busy looking for attention.

Reply
Dean Smith
2/3/2022 03:16:15 pm

She was my neighbor as a child. I loved her and her husband Earl. Her brother Andy was a talented jazz artist as well.

Reply



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