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Here’s a May topic for everyone that has May fever.
I’m sure I’m not the only one that considers the singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana" an important part of race day, and though I’m sure that almost all of us would love for Jim Nabors to be the singer of that song on Memorial Day weekend forever, the fact is someday the decision for a different singer will have to be made. Though I understand the speedway doing what they did last year in trying to have the fans sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" but it didn’t work and I hope they never do that again! Also, I believe the song should always be sung live (since I’m sure someone will suggest a playback track of Jim Nabors).
That being said, my suggestion for the future singer for "Back Home Again in Indiana" is Mike Rowe.
Mike Rowe is best known as host “Dirty Jobs” and the voice of several other shows on the Discovery Channel, but what most people do not know about Mr. Rowe is that prior to television he was a professional singer with the Baltimore Opera and he has a singing voice that I think will be perfect for the race day rendition.
I believe in the short term, the current popularity of Mike Rowe would help generate some interest in the Indy 500 from people that wouldn’t consider themselves fans of motorsport (which after seeing some IndyCar racing, I believe many will become fans), but more importantly for the long term, I think with Mike Rowe the traditional singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana"
can be great for another 30 years.
Obviously Mr. Rowe will have to enjoy singing "Back Home Again in Indiana" as much as Mr. Nabors has for almost every year since 1972 for it to be a success, but I think he should be one of the first people that the speedway approaches when the permanent replacement is needed.
I know there are plenty of opinions on TF and though I'm not sure if it is possible that what is said on this forum can influence the decision the Indianapolis Motor Speedway makes concerning this, nevertheless what does everyone else think?
I’m sure I’m not the only one that considers the singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana" an important part of race day, and though I’m sure that almost all of us would love for Jim Nabors to be the singer of that song on Memorial Day weekend forever, the fact is someday the decision for a different singer will have to be made. Though I understand the speedway doing what they did last year in trying to have the fans sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" but it didn’t work and I hope they never do that again! Also, I believe the song should always be sung live (since I’m sure someone will suggest a playback track of Jim Nabors).
That being said, my suggestion for the future singer for "Back Home Again in Indiana" is Mike Rowe.
Mike Rowe is best known as host “Dirty Jobs” and the voice of several other shows on the Discovery Channel, but what most people do not know about Mr. Rowe is that prior to television he was a professional singer with the Baltimore Opera and he has a singing voice that I think will be perfect for the race day rendition.
I believe in the short term, the current popularity of Mike Rowe would help generate some interest in the Indy 500 from people that wouldn’t consider themselves fans of motorsport (which after seeing some IndyCar racing, I believe many will become fans), but more importantly for the long term, I think with Mike Rowe the traditional singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana"
can be great for another 30 years.
Obviously Mr. Rowe will have to enjoy singing "Back Home Again in Indiana" as much as Mr. Nabors has for almost every year since 1972 for it to be a success, but I think he should be one of the first people that the speedway approaches when the permanent replacement is needed.
I know there are plenty of opinions on TF and though I'm not sure if it is possible that what is said on this forum can influence the decision the Indianapolis Motor Speedway makes concerning this, nevertheless what does everyone else think?
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