Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren bog Obam here. The inauguration of Joe Biden and
Speaker 1: Kamala Harris as President and Vice President of the United
Speaker 1: States looked a little different this year due to COVID
Speaker 1: nineteen and the January six insurrection, but their ceremonies still
Speaker 1: managed to pack in performances by Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez,
Speaker 1: and Garth Brooks. And that's to say nothing of the
Speaker 1: events that happened before and after the actual swearing in.
Speaker 1: But when exactly did the presidential inauguration constitutionally mandated ceremony
Speaker 1: to swear in the new leader of the free world
Speaker 1: become Washington's biggest four year fiesta and Hollywood celebrities and
Speaker 1: pop stars always been on the guest list. According to
Speaker 1: Jim Benditt, author of Democracy's Big Day, the Inauguration of
Speaker 1: Our President, presidential inaugurations have always been a good excuse
Speaker 1: to party until recently. The ceremony itself was rather stayed
Speaker 1: and serious military parade, Oath of office inaugural address done,
Speaker 1: but the before and after festivities have always been a
Speaker 1: hot ticket, including the balls that occur after the inauguration,
Speaker 1: Bendett said, Inaugural balls were there from the very beginning,
Speaker 1: and the first official inaugural ball was in eighteen o nine,
Speaker 1: but even George Washington had one a week after his
Speaker 1: first ceremony in seventeen nine. In those days, the entertainment
Speaker 1: would just be orchestras playing like music, but as time
Speaker 1: went on, you started having big bands and other popular
Speaker 1: music acts showing up. In ninety one, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Speaker 1: was the first to throw a pre inauguration gala the
Speaker 1: night before his third inauguration, a tradition that continues today.
Speaker 1: Roosevelt's gala drew some of the era's biggest names, Bendett said,
Speaker 1: Irving Berlin saying God Bless America, which was a pretty
Speaker 1: new song at the time. Mickey Rooney performed, Charlie Chaplin
Speaker 1: did a monologue from the film The Great Dictator. In
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty one, the stars came out in a major
Speaker 1: way for the Hollywood ready John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra,
Speaker 1: and Peter Lawford, also Kennedy's brother in law, personally organized
Speaker 1: the night before gala, which included Milton Burl, Harry Belafonte,
Speaker 1: Ella Fitzgerald, Jing Kelly, Janet Lee, Tony Curtis, Nat King, Cole,
Speaker 1: and many others. But are Democratic candidates the only ones
Speaker 1: that can book the big celebrities? Today Hollywood runs fairly blue.
Speaker 1: But that wasn't always the case, Bendett said. For Nixon
Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty nine, there was Tony Bennett, James Brown,
Speaker 1: Connie Francis, Dinah Shore. For Eisenhower, there was Teresa Brewer,
Speaker 1: Janette McDonald, Katherine Grayson, all well known singers. But that's
Speaker 1: ninety seven, early rock and roll, and you didn't have
Speaker 1: rock and roll acts at inaugurations, not under Eisenhower. That
Speaker 1: wasn't happening. More recently, George W. Bush's Texas supporters through
Speaker 1: the Republican President elect a black tie in boots ball
Speaker 1: in two thousand one, featuring lone star state celebrities like
Speaker 1: Lyle Lovett, Clint Black, and Chuck Norris, who was at
Speaker 1: the time portraying Walker Texas Ranger on the eponymous TV show.
Speaker 1: Barack Obama's actual swearing in ceremonies featured big name performers.
Speaker 1: At his second inauguration, Beyonce sang or maybe lip sync
Speaker 1: to the national anthem Kelly Clarkson performed My Country Tis
Speaker 1: of the and James Taylor soft rocked America the Beautiful.
Speaker 1: Prior to Obama, inauguration day performances were usually limited to
Speaker 1: the United States Marine Band choirs and the occasional National
Speaker 1: treasure like soprano Marian Anderson, who performed two separate inaugurations
Speaker 1: for Dwight D. Eisenhower in and JFK in one. Trump
Speaker 1: returned to a more traditional lineup for the ceremony itself,
Speaker 1: but snacked performers like Lee Greenwood, Toby Keith, and Three
Speaker 1: Doors Down for the pre party on the nineteen. Poetry readings, however,
Speaker 1: are more rare. Biden is only the fourth president to
Speaker 1: have a poet read during his swearing in ceremony. The
Speaker 1: others were Bill Clinton, Obama and JFK. Poet Robert Frost
Speaker 1: actually wrote a special poem for JFK's inocuration, but couldn't
Speaker 1: read it due to the bright glare from the snow
Speaker 1: blanketing the capital that day, so he recited one that
Speaker 1: he knew by heart, the Gift Outright. Today's episode was
Speaker 1: written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler Clang. For
Speaker 1: more in this and lots of other topics, visit how
Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio.
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