Long before Creed’s ‘Higher’ became the unofficial anthem during the Texas Rangers’ World Series winning season, there was another song from the team’s early years that brought just as much excitement to the crowds.
“It's exciting – people as old as I am think back about the past and it means even more,” said Mark Singletary, who wrote the song ‘Ode To The Texas Rangers’.
The song was played before every single Rangers game and then again after winning games at the original Arlington Stadium, from 1975 to 1980.
Singletary’s friend posted a copy of it online for fans to listen back to a piece of Texas Rangers’ history:
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“It's a blend of a little bit bluegrass, a little bit country – as soon as they hear the banjo they wanna turn it off,” joked Singletary. “But at that time, bluegrass music was very popular.”
A LOOK BACK IN TIME
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Singletary recalls the chance connections that led him to Arlington Stadium and eventually to recording the song.
“I went to church with a gentleman who had a company installing security equipment and surveillance cameras. He got contracted to run closed circuit televisions to the concession stands at the old Arlington Stadium,” he told NBC 5 in an interview. “And at that time, that was cutting edge. Nobody else was doing that kind of thing.”
The 1970s was also the beginning of videotape recording where people could play back what they had just recorded.
“It wasn't long after, the televisions were installed in the concession stands and the players asked if they could see their at-bats or pitches or whatever after the game,” Singletary remembers.
His friend was operating the cameras and the two would go back to the locker room after the game to play back whatever plays the team wanted to see.
“I happened to just kind of offhand mention, they should have a theme song,” said Singletary. “Two or three days later, I got a callback and they said, ‘Yes, we should have a theme song. Why don't you write one?’”
Singletary, a college student at the time, had already been a songwriter and had written a lot of songs up to this point. He didn’t think it would be that hard.
“And I soon discovered it was,” he laughed. “I was trying to get started and the bass player in the band came up with the first couple of lines – after that, the song flowed out rather quickly.”
He and his band went into the studio to record the song with a production budget of $75.
“I told the guys, we got about 2.5 hours. We're gonna have to knock this out,” Singletary remembers. “I really didn't anticipate that recording being a master recording.”
But after turning in the song – he heard it play during a Rangers game against the New York Yankees to a sold-out crowd of nearly 50,000 people at Arlington Stadium.
“It went over great, people loved it,” Singletary said. “Theme songs for athletic teams were uncommon if not unique.”
The song played during countless games during the team’s formative years. By 1980 when owner Fred Corbett sold the team to new folks, the song's air time came to an end.
"Naturally, they came in and wanted to start fresh with everything else," said Singletary.
However, longtime Rangers fans will remember the tune – and its journey through time. The song was eventually added to the historical library in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstorn, New York.
Singletary has been a dedicated Rangers fan ever since and said the World Series win means even more to him thanks to his musical connection to the team.
“The reality is even better of what the Rangers were like back then,” he said. “They have a great organization and some great young players – we celebrate this week and next week, let's get to work and win it again.”
