Up with People

Up with People originated as an offshoot of the evangelical Protestant group Moral Re-armament (MRA). J. Blanton Belk, then "heir apparent" to MRA leader Peter D. Howard, broke away from MRA under the advice of US President Dwight Eisenhower, who counseled Belk against continuing with MRA and its "dreary image."[6] Eisenhower provided the impetus for UWP's founding as part of his enthusiasm for Protestant evangelism that began during his presidency (1953–61). During that time, Eisenhower oversaw the addition of the phrase "under God" to the pledge of allegiance and the marking of US currency with "In God we trust," as well as receiving a Presbyterian baptism during his administration and stating "our form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith."[7][8] With Eisenhower's impetus, Belk founded a song-and-dance troupe that promoted religious faith and opposed then-salient countercultural and anti-establishment attitudes.[3] An early Up with People performer stated "I'm fed up with the image of American youth being created by beatniks, draft-card burners, campus rioters and protest marchers"[9]

Up with People developed a repertoire based around "simple chord progressions and childish lyrics," that "bore virtually no resemblance to the popular music of the time."[3] While contemporaries such as British heavy metal band Black Sabbath released singles like "War Pigs," an eight-minute number decrying the military-industrial complex, Up with People performed songs with titles like "To Tell the Truth" and "You Can't Live Crooked and Think Straight," as well as The Star-spangled Banner.[9] Even as bands like The Ramones and The Sex Pistols trended away from longer and more complicated songs, these groups' bleak, nihilistic, and gritty lyrics contrasted with Up with People's mandatory positivity - "cast members were required to smile for the duration of their performances."[10] Despite this contrast, Up with People's performances reached a wide audience through their affiliation with large corporations, evangelical Protestantism, and Republican Party figures such as Richard Nixon, who sought to present himself as "not a crook."[3] Though Up with People sought to extend its influence beyond white American evangelicals, decrying racism in "What Color is God's Skin?" and performing for popes Paul VI and John Paul II, it maintained its bland image and vaguely Christian themes.[3]

During the 1970s, Up with People performed at sporting events like Indianapolis 500,[11] the Cotton Bowl, and Super Bowl X as well as at the White House.[12] Up with People performers brought their mandatory smiles to Belfast, then a war zone, and to the People's Republic of China while it experienced the throes of the Cultural Revolution[13]

Despite worldwide fame, Up with People encountered troubles. Despite clean-cut images and happy-go-lucky performances, as young people in the 1970s, Up with People performers "experimented with sex and drugs."[10] The group also attracted gay performers during a time when homophobic attitudes prevailed in the United States, especially among republicans and Evangelical Christians. Up with People alumnus and gay man Eric Roos asked rhetorically, "What kind of guy wants to prance around in a bodysuit on stage?" and described the Up with People cast of the 1970s and 80s, stating "It was a huge percentage of gay guys with the supposition that no one was gay."[10]

During the 1980s, Up with People continued their Super Bowl performances at Super Bowls XIV, XVI, and XX.[12] Though twenty-first-century Super Bowls feature popular music acts, at this time "Professional football was still trying to match the popularity of the college game," and brought in Up with People alongside acts like "university marching bands and high school drill teams."[10] But, despite continued Super Bowl performances and friendliness with Republican Politicians, Up with People's popularity began to wane.[10] As the counterculture of the 1960s faded into historical memory, Up with People found itself outmoded. Ironically, the victory of Up with People's evangelical backers threw the group into irrelevance. With the political ascent of Ronald Reagan, American evangelicals ensconced themselves in positions of power, and no longer felt the need to sponsor cultural pushback against radical ideas.[10] By the late 1980s, the NFL, which once provided Up with People with its largest audiences, sought to expand its cultural appeal beyond white, Christian Americans, and began incorporating "multicultural," and, eventually, popular music acts into the Super Bowl halftime show.[10] Losing its "financial lifeblood," Up with People, which introduced tuition fees in 1972, increased its fees to $5,300 (equivalent to $15,441.29 in 2022) for a five-month program in 1982.[3][14] These expensive fees drove would-be performers away from the group.

Facing increasing irrelevance, Up with People reorganized its programs in the 1990s. UWP introduced programs for academic credit in the 1990s, and launched a summer camp in 2011.[13] By this point, Up with People's tuition fees "exceeded the cost of most private universities."[3] The group began to appear in cultural American cultural memory as the butt of jokes. Music critics cite Up with People as a stylistic influence for R.E.M's tongue-in-cheek "Shiny Happy People" and the corresponding music video due to its over-the-top and colorful musical spectacle.[15][16][17] The Simpsons parodied the group as "Hooray for Everything," a group of "clean-cut young go-getters," that performs ridiculous songs such as a cover of "Get Dancin" dedicated as a "salute to the Western hemisphere, the greatest hemisphere in the world.",[18][19][20][21] The creators of The Book of Mormon, a musical that satirizes the latter-day saint movement cited Up with People as an inspiration for the cartoonishly joyous style of several of the songs in their musical performance, which sends up the clean-cut image of Mormon culture.[22][23][24]

Glenn Close, the Emmy- and Tony-award winning and Oscar-nominated actress, was a member of Up with People from 1965 to 1969.[25]

Frank Gatson Jr. traveled with Up with People, and he is known for being the creative director for En Vogue, Brandy, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, and Beyoncé. He has also choreographed videos, routines and live performances for artists including Michael Jackson, TLC, Kelly Rowland, Fifth Harmony, Destiny's Child, Toni Braxton and Usher.[26][27]

Anya Adams is an Up with People alumna and is known for her role as director and assistant director for TV shows Black-ish, The Mindy Project, Community, CSI Miami, and Body of Proof.[28][29][30]

NBC News correspondent Tom Costello of The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, and CNBC traveled with Up with People. He is quoted as saying "For me, the gap year was a big year of growing up, and I changed profoundly."[31]

Dutch documentary film director, writer, and photographer Koen Suidgeest traveled in 1988. He is known for his films Karla's Arrival, Casting, Out & About, Solo, and Girl Connected as well as his book Why I Cry on Airplanes and his 2015 TED Talk.[32][33][34][35]

Bermudian singer and actress Candace Furbert traveled in Up with People. She is known for performing in London's West End Theatre and her roles in Book of Mormon, Shrek, Dream Girls, Tina, and more.[36]

Director Jon Lawrence Rivera (directing theater performances such as Carla, Moscow, All Soul's Day, Red Hat & Tales, and more) traveled with Up with People in 1981 to 16 states and 13 countries. He was quoted as saying "It was an amazing experience," and "It gave me the feeling that whatever you want to do, you can do."[37][38]

• — (2018). Keep Hope Alive (Studio Recordings from Live on Tour) (CD).
• — (2018). Live on Tour 2018 (CD).
• — (2015). The Journey (CD).
• — (2012). Voices (CD).
• — (2010). A Song for the World (CD).
• — (2008–2009). Up with People World Tour (CD).
• — (1999). A Common Beat (CD).
• — (1997). Roads (CD).
• — (1994). The Festival (CD).
• — (1992). World in Motion (CD).
• — (1990). Rhythm of the World (CD).
• — (1988). Face to Face (CD).
• — (1986). Time for the Music (CD).
• — (1984). Beat of the Future (CD).
• — (1980). Encore (CD).
• — (1980). Holiday Greetings (CD).
• — (1978). People Are the Energy (CD).
• — (1976). Push On Through (CD).
• — (1974). The Show Album (CD).
• — (1973). Livin' On (CD).
• — (1972). The Further We Reach (CD).
• — (1970). Let All the People In (CD).
• — (1969). Up with People (CD).
• — (1968). Frontiers of Tomorrow (CD).
• — (1967). Up with People III (CD).
• — (1966). Up with People in Hollywood (CD).
• — (1965). Up with People: The Sing Out Musical (CD).[39]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Up with People.

• Official website
• Up with People Archive at the University of Arizona Special Collections Library
• Up with People Digital Collection at the University of Arizona Special Collections Library