Remember when we didn't play Rocky Top?

#52
#52
This from the utsports.com:

The famed letter "T" debuted on Tennessee's helmets in the fall of 1964 as Doug Dicke assumed the head coaching reins.

Dickey also brought another Tennessee tradition to life when he started the Vols running through the "T."

No mention of Mears here.
 
#53
#53
It's from the book, Big Orange Memories by Ron Bliss.

There are some pictures in there, I can scan them in tomorrow if you want.
 
#54
#54
From wiki:

Rocky Top
Rocky Top
Vol fans can also thank Julian, via Walter McDaniel, for introducing "Rocky Top" in a halftime show in 1972, after which it made its way to the stands. The football crowd loved the tune and its words; the more the band played it, the more people wanted it. It has now become one of the University's best-known traditions and one of the band's most famous songs.
Its popularity also extends far beyond the campus of the University of Tennessee; "Rocky Top" became one of the Tennessee state songs in 1982. To acknowledge the impact that UT and the "Pride" had on their careers, when writers Felice and Boudleaux Bryant were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986, Julian was invited.
Contrary to popular belief, "Rocky Top" is not Tennessee's official fight song, although it is so closely identified with the university that many believe this to be the case. Tennessee's official fight song is "Down the Field". It is quite common for the band to end playing Rocky Top and the crowd to continue singing the chorus into the next play.
 
#56
#56
I like that tradition we're bringing back of putting more numbers up on that board they have at the end of the field.
 
#57
#57
emeewes said:
Thank you. Even the Verizon commercial in the stands is annoying talking about hearing the fight song ringback tone or whatever. Rocky Top isn't and should never be a fight song.

Songs like Down the Field and Fight Vols Fight and March on Mighty Vols are much better when it comes to being traditional school songs.
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Most people, especially National Media like ESPN, don't know this little tidbit either: The official fight song is actually "Down the Field," which is played when the Pride "Opens the T" for the team to run through at the end of their famous Pregame show, as well as when the Vols score a touchdown.

Down the Field is played after a Touchdown and then Rocky Top after the PAT. Many actually lump these 2 songs together by mistake.
 
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#58
#58
I love CLK and am proud of the team this year...BUT...if they wear black unis and come out of a cursive T with the band playing Lil' Wayne raps next year, then I am going to start being concerned!
 
#61
#61
I remember all the things mentioned by the OP. I was at the 1st game we dropped the single wing.

The cannon sat on the hill that used to be in the open end of the horseshoe as the stands were called. It was brought in and manned by a frat (Phi Sig I think). Here is a depiction of it on a mug.

vn1.jpg

I think they decided it was too dangerous to use inside the enclosed stadium.

The Tenn. Walker was stopped originally due to several of them slipping and falling. Later due to the publicity over how they are altered.
 
#63
#63
governmentmule said:
3. There was a cannon on the hill above the north endzone that was fired when we scored.

4. We used to have a Tennessee walking horse on the field before the game.


I would like to see these 2 brought back myself
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I'll do you one better: A Tennessee Walking Horse with a cannon on it!

Or better yet, we shoot a Tennessee Walking Horse out of a cannon every time we score. Of course that'd get the PETA people in an uproar.
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#65
#65
Bleed-Orange said:
My dad is an old UT alumni and we got into the discussion about the Black Uni's and the outcry from the "traditionalists". He said the entire discussion is laughable and went through a list of traditions that used to be and others that are new. Among the things he brought up were:

1. The UT band didn't play Rocky Top.
2. The north end zone didn't have stands.
3. There was a cannon on the hill above the north endzone that was fired when we scored.
3. Our traditional "orange" uniform used to be almost a gold color.
4. We used to have a Tennessee walking horse on the field before the game.
5. There wasn't an upper deck.
6. UT didn't have a QB. We ran the single wing. He watched the first time a qb took the field.

I knew about a few of these, but I had no idea the band didn't play Rocky Top. Anyone else have memories like these?
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From what I have gathered the shade of orange has always been the same. The orange pants looked like they had a goldish tint to them in the bammer game. Remember, the color is supposed to be like the color of the inside of a daisy so it would be bright with a little goldish hint.
I think the fabric and weather conditions can make the color look different on the field.
Now the stuff the fans wear can range from auburn orange to yellow, this has always annoyed me.
 
#66
#66
How cool would it be to see a TN walking horse lead the team out of the tunnel and through the T?
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#67
#67
I was at UT from 1972-76, have been going to games since 1964. At some point after 1972 the band starting playing Rocky Top and it was an immediate hit. As for becoming the "unofficial" fight song, I don't think it was planned, it just happened over time. During that time the end zone was not enclosed, there was an orange and white UT on the hill, and a cannon that was fired after each score. I've always wondered where that cannon is now, it's not something you just throw away, it would be neat to display it outside the stadium even if it's not fired.
 
#68
#68
yeah, i may be young. But, i remeber all that & you know times change and with the new coaching staff I would be lookin for some new traditions to start poping up
 
#70
#70
Well, I say if Mt. Cody comes back next year we bring back the cannon for at least one more game.
 
#71
#71
hmanvolfan said:
Song was released on Christmas day 1967 according to these guys.....
YouTube - Osborne Brothers - Rocky Top
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Ironically the Osborne Brothers are from Kentucky and are huge UK fans. They weren't too pleased when Tennessee adopted Rocky Top as the second fight song. The money they made helped ease the pain. The song was legendary even before The State Of Tennessee adopted it.
 
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#72
#72
"Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year. The song, which is a city-dweller's lamentation over the loss of a simpler and freer existence in the hills of Tennessee, is one of Tennessee's seven official state songs and has been recorded by dozens of artists from multiple musical genres worldwide since its publication. In U.S. college athletics, "Rocky Top" is associated with the Tennessee Volunteers of the University of Tennessee, whose Pride of the Southland Band has played a marching band version of the song at the school's sporting events since the early 1970s.[1]
 
#73
#73
My first UT game was in 1965, and the cannon was there. And it was fired.
 
#74
#74
I remember when fans used to wear "church clothes" to UT ball games. Thanks heavens those days are long gone!
 
#75
#75
The famed letter "T" debuted on Tennessee's helmets in the fall of 1964 as Doug Dicke assumed the head coaching reins.

Dickey also brought another Tennessee tradition to life when he started the Vols running through the "T."
 
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