So many people have flocked to President Andrew Jackson’s inaugural reception that they say he escaped the White House through a window. President John F. Kennedy summoned a friend of the Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra, to organize the entertainment when he took office. And, well, the Obamas danced for Beyoncé.
The transfer of presidential power in the United States has always been a remarkable political event, but over the centuries it has also become an important cultural touchstone – a whirlwind of parades, parties and presentations shedding light on the country’s culture every four years. , the tastes of their leaders and the images they seek to project.
But with the coronavirus pandemic entering a more deadly phase and Washington nervous after the Capitol rebellion and warnings of even more security threats, the inauguration of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be different by necessity. It will join a long line of national events – major sports games, the Democratic National Convention, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year’s Eve in Times Square – that have been forced to slow down and adapt to a socially distant and remote world.
On Wednesday, Biden’s inaugural committee announced that it would host a prime time television event on January 20, featuring celebrities like Tom Hanks, Justin Timberlake and Jon Bon Jovi, which aims to “show resilience, heroism and commitment American people to come together as a nation to heal and rebuild. “
With the crowds being urged to stay home not to spread the virus, even before a violent crowd tries to block the election’s certification, Biden’s inauguration promises to take on a different look, tone and feeling than his predecessors.
“All inaugural activities follow a series of very standardized events,” said Lina Mann, a historian at the White House Historical Association. “You have the parade, you have to be on the Capitol, you have the speeches, you have the oaths, and then, of course, you have the inaugural balls. These have been the standard for more than 200 years. This is definitely going to look very different than that. “
So, as the country prepares to usher in the Biden era with a series of atypical inaugural events designed to meet the urgent needs of the day, here’s a look at how politics intersected with culture at some of the inaugural moments of making history. the past.
From Dolley Madison to Teddy Roosevelt
It was the brilliant ball that Dolley Madison held in 1809 in the possession of her husband, James – the first inaugural ball held in the new capital, Washington – that helped to set the standard for turning openings into social events.
Two decades later, President Andrew Jackson allowed some 20,000 people to attend a public reception linked to his inauguration. This ended up being an excessive number of participants, which caused him to flee through a White House window.
Crowds also damaged the ball that President Ulysses S. Grant reluctantly agreed to hold in 1869. A reporter for The New York Times filled out a postscript of his article on chaos and crowds at “2 am”. The dance scene now confuses all descriptions. “
And in President Theodore Roosevelt’s second inauguration, the parade’s playlist featured “There will be a hot time in the old town tonight,” and among the protesters were cowboys; Native Americans, including Geronimo; delegations from Puerto Rico and the Philippines; and Harvard graduate students. “If there was any considerable type of American life not represented in the three and a half hours of effervescent enthusiasm that boiled down the avenue,” wrote the Times, “it is not easily remembered.”
JFK and Reagan enlist the power of the stars
President John F. Kennedy managed to recruit an A-lister to produce his inaugural concert and a gala: Sinatra.
Mrs. Mann, the historian, said she saw entertainment at Kennedy’s inauguration – featuring Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Leonard Bernstein, Sidney Poitier, Ethel Merman, Harry Belafonte and other big stars – as a “big moment” that would set the stage for the kind of glamorous, multi-part inaugural explosions that Americans usually expect.
Despite a blizzard that interrupted the festivities, a contemporary account described the gala as “perhaps one of the most impressive montages of theatrical talent ever assembled in a single show”.
Twenty years later, President Ronald Reagan, a former Hollywood actor, attended no less than eight balls, alongside stars like Charlton Heston, at performances by Tony Bennett, Lou Rawls and Ray Charles.
“The aura of big money was everywhere,” wrote the Times. “Expensive dresses by James Galanos, Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta, an unprecedented $ 100 ticket to dance to Count Basie and other great bands.”
A Clinton mega-concert
In the years that followed, most presidents held some kind of inaugural concert and relied on the performers to add layers of musical symbolism to their inaugurations. President Bill Clinton’s team took things to a level that recalled the fanfare of the Kennedy and Reagan celebrations.
In 1993, the Clinton team sent names like Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Kathleen Battle, Kenny G. and Ray Charles to a mega concert at the Lincoln Memorial that, as critic Jon Pareles in The Times wrote, “promised unity through crossover . “
With Bush, performance grows political
If the 2001 events that honored President George W. Bush’s inauguration had slightly less stars – the Times described the feeling as “almost anti-Hollywood” – they still featured pop superstars and country singers, including Ricky Martin and Jessica Simpson .
And, to give an idea of what was to come, the question of whether or not to act was increasingly seen as a political decision.
“This is a very partisan act,” said Robi Draco Rosa, a friend of Martin and composer of hits like “Livin ‘la Vida Loca” at the time. “This is a betrayal of everything that every Puerto Rican should represent.”
Obama relies on music to break down barriers
President Barack Obama participated in 10 inaugural balls in 2009, but one stood out: the Baile do Bairro. “Michelle was a chocolate brown vision in her flowing white dress, and at our first stop I took her in my arms and turned her around and whispered silly things in her ear as we danced to a sublime version of ‘At Last’ sung by Beyoncé, ”he wrote in his recently released memoir,“ A Promised Land ”.
It was another grand opening full of stars. Aretha Franklin sang “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” at the oath ceremony. Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z and Kanye West also had roles to play in the events.
“Sir. Obama’s inaugural events, which have endeavored to involve everyone, have been imbued with an African American soul like the rest of American pop culture,” wrote Pareles in The Times.
Some artists reject Trump, others attract contempt
In the run-up to President Trump’s inauguration, the news focused on both the stars who decided not to perform and those who agreed.
Elton John declined Mr. Trump’s invitation to play at his inauguration. Andrea Bocelli, who was rumored to be acting, ended up not showing up while the inaugural team struggled to hire artists. The Rockettes participated, but only after becoming involved in controversy, when a dancer complained that she was being forced to perform.
In the end, the inauguration featured some big names, including Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down and Lee Greenwood, some of whom participated in the “Make America Great Again! Welcome celebration. ”Critic Jon Caramanica wrote in The Times that” he oscillated between jingoism and the Vaudevillian buffet and largely ignored the contribution of African Americans to popular music (that is, almost all popular music). “
Now Biden, a man who has longed to be president for decades, is preparing to write his own entry into the history of tenure. Your version will not have the exuberant parades and sparkling balls from previous celebrations. But the task ahead is as challenging as ever: to unify and entertain a tense and divided American audience.
Kitty Bennett contributed research.