Tops in Blue was a touring performance ensemble made up of active duty members of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

formed in 1953. For 63 years, Tops in Blue traveled to more than 20 countries to perform more than 120 times each year for airmen and families around the world. Each year, they performed in front of more than 250,000 military personnel and their families, presenting an average of 120 performances at 100 locations worldwide throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Central America, and the Pacific.

Ensemble

The ensemble was composed of 30-35 vocalists, dancers, musicians and technicians and was considered the Air Force's expeditionary entertainment unit. Members were expected to be in top physical condition because they were their own

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

s. The team unloaded of equipment which used a stage and truss that was built to fit on 13 pallets or two truck trailers. They spent four to eight hours setting up the stage prior to a show and were responsible for tearing everything down immediately afterwards. Their primary purpose was to perform for military personnel and their families throughout the world. They have appeared on national television with

Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York ...

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

Lee Greenwood Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He also plays the saxophone. Active since 1962, he has released more than 20 major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the ''Billboa ...

, and

Lea Michele Lea Michele Sarfati (; born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and author. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway (theatre), Broadway, appearing in productions of ''Les Misérables (musical), Les Misérab ...

. Tops in Blue was produced by the Entertainment Branch of the Programs Directorate, Headquarters Air Force Services Agency. The program was funded by appropriated and non-appropriated funds that are generated by Air Force people and was sponsored by

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

. They produced five movies and two albums. The unit was self-contained with its members consisting of four flights: personnel, logistics, operations, and technical.

Audition

Candidates for Tops in Blue submitted a video performance to Headquarters Air Force Services Agency. If selected for audition, they were flown from all over the world to

Lackland AFB Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of Sa ...

for a ten-day talent show and multilevel competition judged by former Tops in Blue members. The performers were picked in six categories: male vocalist, female vocalist, instrumentalist, musical variety, dance, and non-musical variety including comedians,

magicians Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

, and dramatists. Each year was a new group and past members were not guaranteed to return. Those selected attended a 45-day training period at

History

Air Force Major Al Reilly created the Air Force Worldwide Talent Contest in 1953, and Tops in Blue began as a tour showcasing the best members of the contest performing at 230 locations in 235 days. Initially, the contest was judged in 14 categories ranging from comedy, drama, pop,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...

, vocal and

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

. It was judged by celebrities like

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

, Les Brown,

Richard Roundtree Richard Roundtree (born July 9, 1942) is an American actor. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film '' Shaft'', and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2 ...

, and

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

. In 1954, Ed Sullivan invited Tops in Blue to perform at Mitchel Air Field, NY on his show "

Toast of the Town ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

" where Airman Second Class

Jerry Van Dyke Jerry McCord Van Dyke (July 27, 1931 – January 5, 2018) was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke had a long and successful career mostly as a character actor in supporting and guest roles on pop ...

led the show as Master of Ceremonies. In 1964, Tops in Blue left the stage to record in a movie studio to produce films and records for distribution throughout the Air Force. However, in 1971 Tops in Blue gained Air Force support to return to the stage on their return to live tours in 1972.

Notable events

Tops In Blue & Lea Michele at Super Bowl XLV

In 1981 they performed the halftime show at the

Garden State Bowl The Garden State Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, from 1978 until 1981.Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", ''The Washington Times''. December 21, 1997 ...

. In 1985, an expanded production of Tops in Blue performed with help from over 1,400 volunteers from

Mather AFB Mather Air Force Base (Mather AFB) was a United States Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 pursuant to a post-Cold War BRAC decision. It was located east of Sacramento, on the south side of U.S. Route 50 in Sacramento County, Californ ...

at the halftime show of

Super Bowl XIX Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1984 Miami Dolphins season, Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1984 San Francisco 49ers season, San Francisco 49 ...

. In 2002, they performed at the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

. They performed

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

in 2005 for Game 6 of the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

and in 2009 at the

Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...

. At the pregame show preceding

Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champi ...

Tops in Blue performed "America the Beautiful" alongside actress

Controversy

Tops in Blue came under scrutiny due to decreasing military budgets and a perception that the show was not supported by the younger enlisted force, who when provided an Air Force questionnaire, viewed it as a "waste of time and money". The reported costs of the program are relatively low, but the unreported costs for salaries, injuries, overseas flights, lodging, etc. is estimated to be much higher. In addition to the monetary issues, the program has had reported fraternization, dangerous work practices, mistreatment, and sexual harassment. In an October 2015 Air Force-wide survey, results from 4,700 responses showed that Airmen between 25 and 34 generally had poor opinions of Tops in Blue and, despite widespread awareness of the program, only about 25% of respondents had attended an event. The survey revealed only 19% of the force was supportive of the program. The results of this survey triggered a review of the program and a suspension of the 2016 tour. The Air Force cited lukewarm interest and fiscal constraints as the primary reason for canceling.

Cancellation

In December 2015 the Secretary of the Air Force announced the suspension of the 2016 season to allow an extended review of the program. The decision was made to pause the program reassess its mission, venue, themes and cost. The Secretary of the Air Force permanently shut down Tops In Blue on 1 September 2016.

References

External links

Tops In Blue

USAF Fact Sheet

Tops in Blue Priors

Tops In Blue official blog
{{United States military bands, state=collapsed United States Air Force personnel United States Air Force American military bands Musical groups established in 1953