Norman Lear’s Born Again American films in Rose Bowl
After Barack Obama was elected President in November 2008, Norman Lear had the idea of making a video that could be part of the celebrations around the Inauguration — something that would celebrate the joy of our diversity as a nation. The idea was to have one song that would be sung by diverse soloists and ensembles in iconic US locations. Lear has had a long association / friendship with All Saints Church, so he called Ed Bacon, asking that the All Saints Choir perform the song in the Rose Bowl. I didn't immediately warm to the idea, and truth be told, it was an enormous hassle, because the studio folks said no printed music existed. They sent a CD of the song, which we learned as best we could, by rote, in the choir room, then headed to the Rose Bowl for recording. Crazy! The composer was there and said, "There is printed music, with parts even." BLAH. Anyhow, it is a wonderful remembrance and a pretty cool song of celebration.