25 years ago
Participating for the third time in a presidential inauguration, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for the first time performed during the parade on Jan. 20, 1981, according to the Jan. 24, 1981, Church News.
The choir's float paused for more than five minutes before President Ronald Reagan's review stand on Pennsylvania Avenue, singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as requested by first lady Nancy Reagan, the article stated.
As many of the 150,000 spectators on the parade route shouted, "Sing for us!" the choir obliged while riding on a 110-foot mobile stage.
The choir, accompanied to Washington, D.C., by President Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, also performed at the opening ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial, accompanied by the United States Army Band. President and Mrs. Reagan attended, along with Vice President George Bush.
The article stated: "The choir and band, on the steps of the memorial where the huge marble statue of Abraham Lincoln and rows of white pillars served as a backdrop, performed 'America the Beautiful,' 'Battle Hymn of the Republic,' and 'The Star Spangled Banner.' "
