Jerry Ford to close out DuQuoin fair

DUQUOIN, Ill. -- For the second straight year, Jerry Ford is taking his big band act to the DuQuoin State Fair. This year he'll close out the festival's grandstand entertainment on Labor Day with his USO Show.

Ford and his 14-piece Jerry Ford Orchestra will be accompanied by several singers and local Bob Hope impersonator Dan Wiethop in a show Ford promises will go beyond just a musical concert.

Instead, Ford and his orchestra will present a remake of a World War II-era USO show. Wiethop will emcee as Hope; vocalist Pat Blackwell will sing tunes by Rosemary Clooney; and three college students, Amanda Eads, Sarah Orlousky and Majhan Phillips, will sing vintage 1940s hits like "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy From Company B." Julie Wilkerson will sing "All of Me" and "It Had to be You."

The orchestra will also play tunes made famous by Glenn Miller's big band, like "In the Mood" and "American Patrol."

"We're going to do tunes that typify the World War II experience, both in the Atlantic and the Pacific," Ford said.

Each afternoon of the fair, which begins Saturday and ends Sept. 4, Ford's Dixieland Band will also stroll the fairgrounds from 4 to 7 p.m. .

Obviously Ford's orchestra delivered a successful performance at the fair last year, since they were asked to return.

Ford said he hopes people from Cape Girardeau can make the relatively short hour-and-a-half drive to DuQuoin for the performance, which is at 7 p.m. and lasts less than two hours.

The concert should be fun, he said.

"There's not much room, but last year people were dancing in the aisles," Ford said.

Ford also wants to encourage veterans, especially WWII and Korea vets, to come see the show. The USO experience will end with the orchestra paying tribute to all branches of the military through song.

For more information on the Sept. 4 show and ticket purchases, call (618) 542-1535.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182