The Sea Chanters (officially the United States Navy Band Sea Chanters) are a component unit of the

United States Navy Band The United States Navy Band, based at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., has served as the official musical organization of the U.S. Navy since 1925. The U.S. Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of government, performin ...

. Activated in 1956 by order of Admiral

Arleigh Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kenne ...

, the unit is a mixed chorus principally charged with "perpetuating songs of the sea".

History

In 1956, Lt. Harold Fultz, then the U.S. Navy Band's assistant leader, organized a group from the United States Navy School of Music to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner. Admiral Arleigh Burke, then

chief of naval operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

, transferred the ensemble to the Navy Band, named them the Sea Chanters and tasked what was at the time the all-male chorus with "perpetuating the songs of the sea". In 1980, the group added women to their ranks for the first time. In subsequent years, the group would perform on "

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles s ...

", "

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...

", and at the premier of ''

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

''. They have also appeared with

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

, and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

. The Sea Chanters' 2016 performance of the Egyptian song “Feha Haga Helwa”, sung on the occasion of the official visit of Gen.

Mahmoud Hegazy Mahmoud Ibrahim Mahmoud Hegazy ( ar, محمود إبراهيم محمود حجازى; born 11 May 1956) is an Egyptian general who was the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces from 2014 to 2017. Hegazy graduated from the Egyptian Military ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, was popularly received by Egyptian social media users who viewed it "thousands" of times and commented on its "almost perfect Arabic".

September 11 memorial service

On 14 September 2011, the Sea Chanters performed the "

Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", also known as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" or "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" outside of the United States, is a popular American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe. Howe wrote her l ...

" at the national memorial service for the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

at the

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the cap ...

, immediately following the eulogy by

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Prior to the memorial service,

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

officials debated the wisdom of following Bush's speech with the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" due to both the song's length, at five stanzas, and its lyrics which were "unabashedly militant", describing the "fateful lightning" of a "terrible, swift sword". Later, some officials of the

Administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

cited the performance by the Sea Chanters as an "awakening" of a need for war.

Organization

During most of the year, the Sea Chanters are posted to the

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area to support state and Navy events, however, embark on a three-week United States tour annually. As of 2018, a majority of its 23 members held university degrees in music and are selected to the ensemble through a process of competitive audition. In addition to its repertoire of sea chanteys and traditional naval songs and ballads, the Sea Chanters also perform patriotic, operatic, and contemporary music.

Notable members

Rockwell Blake Rockwell Blake (born January 10, 1951) is an American operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas. He was the first winner of the Richard Tucker Award. Biography Born and raised in Plattsburgh, NY, Blake was the son of a m ...

References

External links