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Spirit of Atlanta -- July 8, 1980


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As one of the members of the corps put it earlier tonight, "This was our American Pie".....

The corps brass arranger and instructor Jim Ott was killed in an accident in the early morning hours of July 8th while traveling with the corps from New Orleans to Memphis for the next show. The corps was informed of his death on the morning of the 8th. This is a video of their exhibition performance later that evening. Thanks to Roy Perez and all involved for getting this from the original tape to digital format and posted for all to remember. An incredible example of the brotherhood of musicians and the healing power of music.

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Thanks for posting! I had interviewed Jim's sister Bonnie the night before the accident. She was a horn instructor for the Americanos, and they were competing in St. Paul, Minnesota that night.

That clip includes the Count Basie chart "The Heat's On", which was dropped at the halfway point in the season.

Funny thing is that PBS used Spirit's "The Heat's On" as background music for their promos for the DCI Championship broadcast that year, but by the time DCI rolled around

Spirit didn't even play it anymore.

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Wow. Words fail me. Thank you for sharing this, and thank you to Roy Perez for bringing this gem to digital form so that it could be shared. What an extraordinary achievement ... in so many ways. How remarkable that the corps was able to pull itself together to give us this emotional tribute to Jim Ott. Thank you to all involved!

Edited by byline
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Obviously I am going to reply to this being one of those in Birmingham who cried in 1979 over Phantom (which I have gone over a bazillion times) and the next year over Spirit. Hardly a week or less passes where I haven't had to put on my vinyl records (I bought four that I thought would last a lifetime in 1980 with PR, Spirt, Cavs and 27), then CDS, then DVD's then sometimes when I am in a library and I just have to hear my non-Caballaros Jr. favorite song "Let It Be Me" I go to yoxtuxx for "One Night In August". Amazingly, from 1980 and the advent of CD's three of four of my records are now scratched, worn out or melted in my cars.

I love that I have finally seen the actual night of Spirit's performance and they did a wonderful job.

HOWEVER.....

I slightly disagree with doing just an exhibition. My mother died just a week before a Marathon I was planning on dedicating to Elsa's Procession, Carmen, Beethoven's Ninth etc. Instead, I dedicated it in church during a eulogy to my mother. I had no intention of having some sort of exhibition like run. I wanted to have the marathon of my life then be at the finish line with some type of Cold Case Kathryn Morris moment with my Mom. I was on a goal pace, incarnated August 18,1979 to finally qualify for Boston, at Mile 17 until an injury forced me to stop. I would have felt horrible just downgrading to a half marathon or 10-K.

I feel as though Spirit should have done an actual competition with having July 8,1980 being the eternal highest score in DCI history. They should have taken that emotion and vowed stuff like "No one cracks a single note, no one gets out of formation, no one drops a rifle or mistimes a flag dip, or whatever percussion sections did wrong for tics.(I never played drums)" "Tonight for Jim we are going to be perfect, not just real good so that for the rest of history drum corps fans might someday be mourning the loss of All My Children while typing (on a Monday at about 1 p.m.) on their computers on this thing that will be called The Internet about the night Spirit got a 100." "Everyone remember what Jim taught us and be perfect tonight.

I wouldn't have wanted to just stand there and play or like they did. I would have wanted to hear that night during retreat "And In First Place with a score of 100, The Spirit of Atlanta."

If I were in Spirit that night I would have wanted to just blow the stands down, send rifles in whatever the percussion solo was called(Devil Went Down To Georgia?), up to heaven to Jim then catch them perfectly, I'd want to have played and color guarded with such precision computer generated models would use us as perfection. I would have wanted some parent to find a really quick working local sign shop or even better a plague to be installed in the ground reading "On July 8,1980 The Spirit of Atlanta achieved perfection at this site in memory of Jim Ott." After the retreat scores they could have installed it right there for generations of Band members, crowds and athletes to be inspired. For few who have done stuff there in the last 32 years probably know what happened there. Just like the few residents who live in Jersey City's Society Hill housing where The Sit Down occurred.

Well, I have to get ready for a training run with Jim Ott's waiting for me when I get home. I can't decide to watch July 8th, a DVD of Birmingham or just go to DCI FAN NETWORK, which is very much worth the price.

Edited by CaballarosJr.
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Other noteable times when death right before a major sporting event happened to someone and how they handled it very consistent with my epiphany. Last night at the Ravens Game, Favre's Monday Night Football Game and Rochette winning the Olympic Figure Skating Bronze Medal.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--support-from-ravens--rival-players-helps-lift-torrey-smith-on-day-of-family-tragedy.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/football/nfl/12/23/packers.raiders.ap/

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/02/24/olympics.rochette/index.html

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