Sweet Adelines International 75th Jubilee Commemorative Album

You know you’re a Sweet Adeline when… It doesn’t worry you to be learning 21 new show songs in three months. Your husband is astounded by your effervescence, exhibitionism, and your sudden ability to stay up all night. You have trouble finding a restaurant that will let you in at 11:30 p.m. on rehearsal nights. You can correct the pitch problems of the entire world simply by bunching up your right shoulder. You can set aside 15 minutes per day to care for your family of eight. The competition judges look almost human. —Anonymous, 1973

Fun and Factoids: 1970s Valley Forge Chapter,

directed by Jan Touring (Muck) , sang on the Mike Douglas Show with Johnny Mann (originator of the Johnny Mann Singers). Region #15 promotion featured on NBC-TV’s Today show with Barbara Walters (1975). Unusual fund-raiser: Melodeers Chapter collected bags of vacuum cleaner dust and sold it to an allergy lab (1975). Recordings of the 1975 International Competition available from international headquarters as an album (33-1/3 RPM), cassette, or 8-track cartridge. Baseball’s World Series (New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds) shared Cincinnati (Ohio, USA) with our 1976 International Convention singing chorus. Ja-Co-Mo Chapter, under the direction of Harriett Gall, made a two-week tour of Poland in 1978 at the request of Enculturatio, Inc. a service organization promoting cultural exchange programs.

About those medals… International quartet medals have remained unchanged since the beginning, with the Floradora Girls symbolizing quartet achievement.

Chorus medals, on the other hand…

Medals awarded to the first few international chorus medalists were tiny — smaller than a penny. Recipients were delighted to have them, of course. Nevertheless, the idea that women would prefer a piece of delicate jewelry soon was overcome by cries of, “We want a big medal!” And so it came to be.

1978 "Worldwide Area" established with chapters in five nations.

1978 Norma Andersen hired as Music Arrangements Coordinator.

1978 Quarterly tabloid-format newsletter, The ReChorder , a supplement to The Pitch Pipe , sent via mail to every member. (Discontinued 1985)

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