Na-Na-Hey-Hey...

[Lipman 1]

Scott Diener, a documentary film maker (who is doing a potential ESPN 30 for 30 feature on how the White Sox almost moved to Florida) contacted me about a month and a half ago working on a new feature for that network.

It's on the history of the Na-Na-Hey-Hey song and the 77 White Sox.

I provided some audio and video for him as well as contact info for some of the players off that club.

They've gone to Nancy Faust's house in Arizona and Eric Soderholm's business in suburban Chicago to interview them for it.

Right now, it is scheduled to run during SportsCenter on Sunday April 4 for those who are interested.

He told me as he gets more specific info on when exactly it will run that day, he'll let me know...and I'll post it here.

Mark

[TDog]

Among my old 45s, gathering dust in a box.i have a reissue that I know to be a reissue because it has a picture with simply the 1977 Sox logo, calling it the White Sox theme. I found it in a used record store in Phoenix in 1978. I'm sure the song was in the Nancy Faust repertoire when she started scoring the games on the organ in 1970. It was probably played at a lot of ballparks (the ones the had organists that were into the games rather than canned music, charge calls and sounds effects) since 1970.

[Lipman 1]

Among my old 45s, gathering dust in a box.i have a reissue that I know to be a reissue because it has a picture with simply the 1977 Sox logo, calling it the White Sox theme. I found it in a used record store in Phoenix in 1978. I'm sure the song was in the Nancy Faust repertoire when she started scoring the games on the organ in 1970. It was probably played at a lot of ballparks (the ones the had organists that were into the games rather than canned music, charge calls and sounds effects) since 1970.

It certainly has been but it did start with Nancy and the Sox. But not in 1977, it actually began in 1976 but because the team was so bad, no one noticed or cared.

[TDog]

It certainly has been but it did start with Nancy and the Sox. But not in 1977, it actually began in 1976 but because the team was so bad, no one noticed or cared.

Nancy Faust was playing it in 1970 when there were so few fans in the ballpark that you could hear the radio play-by-play from the concession areas below the stands on the television broadcasts. It wasn't until some years later that it became ritual punctuation with the fans.

[voodoochile]

Among my old 45s, gathering dust in a box.i have a reissue that I know to be a reissue because it has a picture with simply the 1977 Sox logo, calling it the White Sox theme. I found it in a used record store in Phoenix in 1978. I'm sure the song was in the Nancy Faust repertoire when she started scoring the games on the organ in 1970. It was probably played at a lot of ballparks (the ones the had organists that were into the games rather than canned music, charge calls and sounds effects) since 1970.

I seem to recall a live interview with Nancy where she made the claim that she could play any top 40 hit from the rock and roll era on. They opened the phone lines and she proceeded to do just that for the next 15 minutes. One guy tried to stump her with an obscure heavy metal song, but the host interjected it didn't qualify because it wasn't top 40. The caller then modified to a more well know song by the same band and Nancy proceeded to play it.

This must have been mid 90s or earlier because I recall hearing it and that wouldn't have been possible after 1996.

[LITTLE NELL]

Nancy Faust was playing it in 1970 when there were so few fans in the ballpark that you could hear the radio play-by-play from the concession areas below the stands on the television broadcasts. It wasn't until some years later that it became ritual punctuation with the fans.

Though I don't remember hearing Na Na at the park earlier than 77, I do remember it being a pretty big hit in 1969 and it would make sense that she would start playing it at the ballpark in 1970. Because of certain work circumstances I never saw a game at Comiskey in 1970, it was the only year since my first game in 1955 that I didn't make it down to 35th and Shields for a game until we moved to Florida in December 1993. Missed 1966 and 1968 because of duty in the USAF but managed to see them in 1967 while on leave. Also saw them play the Twins in 1966 in Metropolitan Stadium.

[Chez]

The song was played regularly by high school pep bands (at the end of games) in the Chicago area years before 1976-7.

[TDog]

I seem to recall a live interview with Nancy where she made the claim that she could play any top 40 hit from the rock and roll era on. They opened the phone lines and she proceeded to do just that for the next 15 minutes. One guy tried to stump her with an obscure heavy metal song, but the host interjected it didn't qualify because it wasn't top 40. The caller then modified to a more well know song by the same band and Nancy proceeded to play it.

This must have been mid 90s or earlier because I recall hearing it and that wouldn't have been possible after 1996.

For a fiction-writing class in the 1990s, I wrote a rather apocalyptic short story set around the 1970 White Sox and had Nancy Faust playing In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. I don't remember ever hearing her play it, but the music fit the scene. Like, she could have played it, albeit without the seven-minute drum solo. . Later that summer, I got to see a Sox game on television. Robin Ventura singled, and as he was rounding first, Nancy Faust was playing In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. I wouldn't be surprised if she had Sox fans kissing the sky more than once. One of the things that used to be special about the White Sox was the genius of the immediate soundtrack.

I'm not sure how licensing of copyrighted material has changed over the years. I've been told variously that it's more than 20 seconds or seven bars that can trigger a fee for public performance. I know singing Happy Birthday on television (or in a movie -- in Big there is a different Happy Birthday for the television/video release because the production company only paid for the popular for the theatrical release) can be expensive, unless it's fallen into the public domain like the Camp Town Races or The Great Gatsby.

[Nellie Fox]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/happy-birthday-song-officially-recognized-in-public-domain/

[Lipman 1]

Heard from Scott the producer of the piece. He said it is scheduled to run starting Sunday morning on SportsCenter. I'd suggest also checking SportsCenter after the Sox game Sunday night.

I know he's interviewed at least Nancy Faust and Eric Soderholm for it.

Mark

[KenBerryGrab]

Thanks for heads up, Lip.

[Lipman 1]

Apparently there is also going to be a story on this in Friday's Sun-Times from what I've been told tonight.

[Lipman 1]

Here is the Sun-Times story on the song, Nancy etc. Story says they spoke to more than just Nancy and Eric. By the way, I was the guy who supplied the audio and video to Scott and his people:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/4/1/22362006/chicago-white-sox-espn-sportscenter-featured-nancy-faust-na-na-hey-hey-kiss-him-goodbye-steam

[whitesox5187]

Here is the Sun-Times story on the song, Nancy etc. Story says they spoke to more than just Nancy and Eric. By the way, I was the guy who supplied the audio and video to Scott and his people:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/4/...-goodbye-steam

I really wish there were more video highlights from that era of White Sox baseball online. Every now and then a couple of videos will pop up on Youtube of a random game but almost never from '77. I'm not sure who owns that footage but I suspect the White Sox probably don't have much access to it either.

[Lipman 1]

I really wish there were more video highlights from that era of White Sox baseball online. Every now and then a couple of videos will pop up on Youtube of a random game but almost never from '77. I'm not sure who owns that footage but I suspect the White Sox probably don't have much access to it either.

They really don't as footage generally wasn't saved from back then unless it was a post season game. All together I have about 20 minutes of broadcast TV footage from that season, selected game highlights (including a bunch from that July weekend with K.C.) and the 2002 WGN-TV special on the 1977 club that ran after a Sox/Expos game narrated by Dan Roan.