Nancy Faust
Encyclopedia
Nancy Faust is the popular former long-time stadium organist
for Major League Baseball
's Chicago White Sox
.
. After graduating
from Theodore Roosevelt High School
, she received a bachelor's degree
in psychology
from North Park College
. During high school and college, she would often fill in for her mother at various engagements.
with a minor in education
from North Park College
, she chose to seek work playing at sporting events for a year before beginning a probable teaching career. She was hired to succeed Bob Creed as the White Sox organist for the 1970 season
by public relations
director Stu Holcomb
, who had seen her perform at a banquet. Her original perch at Comiskey Park
was an organ booth that was established in the center field
bleacher
s in 1960
by Bill Veeck
to encourage fan
interaction. Almost immediately, Faust became arguably the first sports organist to include pop
and rock
themes while playing during the games. Tying creative tunes from TV commercials or popular songs to various players and game situations – not to mention her musicianship – she made a name for herself, and for years has been a major entertainment force at both the old Comiskey Park
and the new Comiskey (re-named U.S. Cellular Field
in 2003).
In the 1970s, Faust – along with announcers Harry Caray
and Jimmy Piersall
, plus Andy the Clown
– became great crowd favorites at Comiskey Park. Usually, when fans think of Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game
" they think of the Chicago Cubs
, but many remember that it was Faust, whose arrangement got Caray so inspired he would bellow the song out loud to himself, who inaugurated this tradition. Owner Bill Veeck
put a public address microphone on Caray, turning him into a cultural icon. Caray later moved from Comiskey to the Wrigley Field
press box, taking the tradition with him.
Faust's genius has been recycling tunes, both well-known and less so, in unexpected directions. That was the case in 1977
, when she used a refrain from a little-known pop song by the group Steam
and created her own cultural icon. The 1969 single "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)
" would have been left among pop music's one-hit wonders if it weren't for Nancy, who – after a Sox home run
was hit and a Royals
pitcher
was sent to the showers – thought "kiss it goodbye..." She played it, the crowd caught on and the rest is history.
Another early adaptation that became a standard arena theme, Queen
's "We Will Rock You
", was given special fan treatment in Comiskey Park as "We will, we will, SOX you!"
and written up in Sports Illustrated
as baseball's "MVO, or Most Valuable Organist", among other accolades. She was even awarded a RIAA
gold record from Mercury Records
, whose sales of the old tune skyrocketed after Nancy's version took the sports world by storm.
Fans have enjoyed being able to visit Faust during games and offer suggestions – first in her open-air position in Comiskey Park's upper deck, and later in a booth behind home plate at U.S. Cellular Field. She has also served as stadium organist for numerous other teams, including the Bulls
(1976–1984), Sting
pro soccer team (1975–1988), and DePaul University
Blue Demons basketball (1977–1981). Many other teams have sent their own organists to take notes from her and have occasionally brought her to perform at their own games. The NHL's Phoenix Coyotes hired her for three games in February 2008.
The 2009
season was Faust's 40th as the Sox organist, and her approach to playing music at a baseball game is still considered the standard. Faust has missed only five scheduled dates in her career – the result of giving birth – and she did not miss any from 1983 through 2005. Starting with the 2006 season, she decided to cut back and only perform at daytime games. While this came as quite a blow to many fans, it is understandable with her closing in on four full decades with the Sox.
Her "Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye" theme is imitated by other teams and fans all over the world, many of whom may be unaware of Nancy Faust and her part in this phenomenon. Faust's talents have been recognized in a new exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame
called "Women in Baseball." She was also a featured performer for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
upon clinching of the 2005 American League pennant.
Her mother, Jacquin Faust Soderberg Givers, who taught music following her own professional career, died September 4, 2007. She once filled in for Nancy at a White Sox game.
Nancy Faust is married to Joe Jenkins and has a son, Eric.
In October 2009, Faust announced that the 2010 baseball season would be her final season behind the keyboard.
Ten thousand Nancy Faust bobblehead dolls were presented to fans by the White Sox before their game on Sept. 18, 2010 at U.S. Cellular Field, with a ceremony held by the team in her honor. Faust was also profiled in a feature story in that day's New York Times.
On Sunday, October 3, 2010, Nancy played her last game at U.S. Cellular.
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
for Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
.
Early life
Faust grew up in the Chicago area, and began playing the organ at age 4 by learning from her mother, Jacquin, also a professional musician. She was also proficient at playing the accordionAccordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
. After graduating
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
from Theodore Roosevelt High School
Theodore Roosevelt High School (Chicago)
Theodore Roosevelt High School is a public secondary school in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The school began existence in 1922 as William G...
, she received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
from North Park College
North Park University
North Park University is a four-year university located at 3225 W. Foster Avenue on the north side of Chicago, Illinois in the North Park neighborhood. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church and shares its campus with the denomination's only seminary...
. During high school and college, she would often fill in for her mother at various engagements.
Chicago White Sox organist
After earning a degree in psychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
with a minor in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
from North Park College
North Park University
North Park University is a four-year university located at 3225 W. Foster Avenue on the north side of Chicago, Illinois in the North Park neighborhood. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church and shares its campus with the denomination's only seminary...
, she chose to seek work playing at sporting events for a year before beginning a probable teaching career. She was hired to succeed Bob Creed as the White Sox organist for the 1970 season
1970 Chicago White Sox season
The 1970 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 70th season in the American League, and its 71st overall. They finished with a record 56-106, good enough for sixth place in the American League West, 42 games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins....
by public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
director Stu Holcomb
Stu Holcomb
Stuart K. Holcomb was an American football and basketball coach best known for serving as head football coach for Miami University and Purdue University . Before coaching, Holcomb was a starting halfback at Ohio State University and the captain of the 1931 Buckeyes football team...
, who had seen her perform at a banquet. Her original perch at Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
was an organ booth that was established in the center field
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
bleacher
Bleacher
Bleachers is an American term used to describe the raised, tiered rows of seats found at sports fields or at other spectator events...
s in 1960
1960 Chicago White Sox season
The 1960 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 60th season in the major leagues, and its 61st season overall. They finished with a record 87-67, good enough for third place in the American League, 10 games behind the first-place New York Yankees....
by Bill Veeck
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...
to encourage fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
interaction. Almost immediately, Faust became arguably the first sports organist to include pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
themes while playing during the games. Tying creative tunes from TV commercials or popular songs to various players and game situations – not to mention her musicianship – she made a name for herself, and for years has been a major entertainment force at both the old Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
and the new Comiskey (re-named U.S. Cellular Field
U.S. Cellular Field
U.S. Cellular Field is a baseball ballpark in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, it is the home of the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball's American League. The park opened for the 1991 season, after the White Sox had spent 81 years at old Comiskey Park...
in 2003).
In the 1970s, Faust – along with announcers Harry Caray
Harry Caray
Harry Caray, born Harry Christopher Carabina, was an American baseball broadcaster on radio and television. He covered four Major League Baseball teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St...
and Jimmy Piersall
Jimmy Piersall
James Anthony Piersall is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. Between 1950 and 1967, he played for the Boston Red Sox , Cleveland Indians , Washington Senators , New York Mets , and Los Angeles/California Angels .While he had a fairly good professional career as a center...
, plus Andy the Clown
Andy the Clown
Andy the Clown was the performing name of Andrew Rozdilsky, Jr. , a lifelong Chicago resident who performed, unofficially, as a clown at Chicago White Sox games at Comiskey Park for 30 years from 1960 to 1990....
– became great crowd favorites at Comiskey Park. Usually, when fans think of Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song. The song is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch of...
" they think of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, but many remember that it was Faust, whose arrangement got Caray so inspired he would bellow the song out loud to himself, who inaugurated this tradition. Owner Bill Veeck
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...
put a public address microphone on Caray, turning him into a cultural icon. Caray later moved from Comiskey to the Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
press box, taking the tradition with him.
Faust's genius has been recycling tunes, both well-known and less so, in unexpected directions. That was the case in 1977
1977 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Reggie Jackson, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: None*National League Championship Series MVP: Dusty Baker...
, when she used a refrain from a little-known pop song by the group Steam
Steam (band)
Steam was a pop-rock music group best known for the 1969 number one hit song and perennial favorite "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye." The song was written and recorded by studio musicians Garrett DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, and producer/writer Paul Leka at Mercury Records studios in New York City...
and created her own cultural icon. The 1969 single "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is a song written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named "Steam". It was released under the Mercury subsidiary label Fontana and became a number one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1969,...
" would have been left among pop music's one-hit wonders if it weren't for Nancy, who – after a Sox home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
was hit and a Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
was sent to the showers – thought "kiss it goodbye..." She played it, the crowd caught on and the rest is history.
Another early adaptation that became a standard arena theme, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's "We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...
", was given special fan treatment in Comiskey Park as "We will, we will, SOX you!"
Honors and recognition
Having become the team's "key player," Faust found herself appearing on ABC's Good Morning AmericaGood Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
and written up in Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
as baseball's "MVO, or Most Valuable Organist", among other accolades. She was even awarded a RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
gold record from Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, whose sales of the old tune skyrocketed after Nancy's version took the sports world by storm.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
(1976–1984), Sting
Chicago Sting
The Chicago Sting was an American professional soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988...
pro soccer team (1975–1988), and DePaul University
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
Blue Demons basketball (1977–1981). Many other teams have sent their own organists to take notes from her and have occasionally brought her to perform at their own games. The NHL's Phoenix Coyotes hired her for three games in February 2008.
The 2009
2009 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champions – New York Yankees**American League Champions – New York Yankees**National League Champions – Philadelphia Phillies*Postseason – October 7 to November 4...
season was Faust's 40th as the Sox organist, and her approach to playing music at a baseball game is still considered the standard. Faust has missed only five scheduled dates in her career – the result of giving birth – and she did not miss any from 1983 through 2005. Starting with the 2006 season, she decided to cut back and only perform at daytime games. While this came as quite a blow to many fans, it is understandable with her closing in on four full decades with the Sox.
Her "Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye" theme is imitated by other teams and fans all over the world, many of whom may be unaware of Nancy Faust and her part in this phenomenon. Faust's talents have been recognized in a new exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
called "Women in Baseball." She was also a featured performer for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
upon clinching of the 2005 American League pennant.
Her mother, Jacquin Faust Soderberg Givers, who taught music following her own professional career, died September 4, 2007. She once filled in for Nancy at a White Sox game.
Nancy Faust is married to Joe Jenkins and has a son, Eric.
In October 2009, Faust announced that the 2010 baseball season would be her final season behind the keyboard.
Ten thousand Nancy Faust bobblehead dolls were presented to fans by the White Sox before their game on Sept. 18, 2010 at U.S. Cellular Field, with a ceremony held by the team in her honor. Faust was also profiled in a feature story in that day's New York Times.
On Sunday, October 3, 2010, Nancy played her last game at U.S. Cellular.
Quotes
External links
- When live music was king at Old Comiskey - University of Chicago Maroon, September 11, 2003
- Nancy Faust celebrating 35 years