Edward Alstrom (born October 12, 1957) is an American musician best known for being the stadium organist for the Major League Baseball 's New York Yankees .
40-509: Alström is a Swedish surname. Notable people with the surname include: Ed Alstrom (born 1958), stadium organist Carl-Henry Alström (1907–1993), Swedish psychiatrist Alström syndrome Per Alström (born 1961), Swedish ornithologist Sara Alström (born 1975), Swedish actress Victor Alström (born 1986), Swedish ice hockey player See also [ edit ] Alstom [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
80-428: A subway train, was inspired by a sign that said "Baseball Today – Polo Grounds ". In the song, Katie's (and later Nelly's) beau calls to ask her out to see a show. She accepts the date, but only if her date will take her out to the baseball game. The words were set to music by Albert Von Tilzer . (Norworth and Von Tilzer finally saw their first Major League Baseball games 32 and 20 years later, respectively.) The song
120-563: A "jazz mass" which combines hymnal texts, poetry and 1970s free-form jazz music. Alstrom wanted to depart from traditional compositions, saying "I just wanted to find a way to do a jazz mass that was not the usual way that was done... The standard jazz mass form... adopts the Latin text and puts some swing beats behind it." Alstrom played the organ for the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 . He was asked to try to sound like Gladys Goodding ,
160-403: A 15-minute solo spot before games begin. He always leads off with "New York, New York." and then plays an assortment of standards, classic songs, and current hits. While much of the organ music during baseball games follows a framework, Alstrom discusses the need to be flexible on the job, saying, "You have to be alert and react to what’s happening and think several steps ahead... You have to know
200-529: A CD with 16 different recordings of the song from various points in time, ranging from a 1908 recording by Fred Lambert, to a seventh-inning-stretch recording by Harry Caray . Also in 2008, a parody of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was sung during an episode of the third season of the American game show Deal or No Deal on NBC . The contestant of that episode, Garrett Smith, was a baseball aficionado and
240-518: A Major League Baseball ad campaign featured versions of the song performed by musicians of several different genres. An alternative rock version by the Goo Goo Dolls was also recorded. Multiple genre Louisiana singer-songwriter Dr. John and pop singer Carly Simon both recorded different versions of the song for the PBS documentary series Baseball , by Ken Burns . In 2001, Nike aired
280-550: A bonus feature in the video game MLB Slugfest 2003 , nu metal band Dry Kill Logic recorded an original song (alongside an accompanying music video) for the game entitled "Riot at the Bat Rack", which is loosely based on "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". In 2006, Jim Burke authored and illustrated a children's book version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". In 2006, Gatorade used an instrumental version of "Take Me Out to
320-568: A commercial featuring a diverse group of Major League Baseball players singing lines of the song in their native languages. The players and languages featured were Ken Griffey Jr. (American English), Alex Rodriguez (Caribbean Spanish), Chan Ho Park (Korean), Kazuhiro Sasaki (Japanese), Graeme Lloyd (Australian English), Éric Gagné (Québécois French), Andruw Jones (Dutch), John Franco (Italian), Iván Rodríguez (Caribbean Spanish), and Mark McGwire (American English). The iconic song has been used and alluded to in many different ways. In
360-524: A harp rendition of the song. A version is heard during the end credits of the 1978 film The Bad News Bears Go to Japan . The first verse is sung by Japanese children, later accompanied by American singers. In 1994, radio station WJMP , broadcasting to the Akron, Ohio , market, played the song continuously during the Major League Baseball players' strike of 1994 as a protest. In 1995 in
400-640: A proud Atlanta Braves fan who even hoped to play for the team as a catcher. However, the lyrics were changed to lyrics that showed disdain for Smith, as this was a song that was penned by the Banker who then encouraged the in-studio audience to sing it to him. The NHL used the song to promote the 2009 NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings taking place at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day, 2009. At
440-437: A sing-along version of the complete song. A 1954 version by Stuart McKay shifted the lyrics two syllables forward to make the song end surprisingly early. In McKay's version the initial "Take me" was sung as an unaccented pickup , causing the final "Game" to land on the same note as "Old" in the original, and leaving last two notes unsung. In 1955, in an episode of I Love Lucy guest starring Harpo Marx , Harpo performed
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#1732802513196480-545: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Ed Alstrom Alstrom was born to Eleanor "Petty" (nee Bissinger) and Ludwig "Eddie" Alstrom in Paterson, New Jersey. He was raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey . He began practicing playing the organ at home on his family’s Hammond M-3 at the age of five. He learned to play guitar, drums and bass as a teenager. He enrolled at Westminster Choir College at what
520-771: Is now Rider University in 1975 with a declared major of organ performance and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in classical organ. While he was attending school he was also playing music in bars in North Jersey, "disco, rock, country music, and jazz gigs." Alstrom worked at Casio in Dover, New Jersey as the Product/Marketing Manager for the Keyboard Division from 1985 through 2003. He assisted with Casio's R&D in Japan, composed and arranged
560-540: The ER Season 2 episode "Hell and High Water", the character Doug Ross tells a child to keep singing the song to keep himself conscious. The 2001 children's book Take Me Out of the Bathtub and other Silly Dilly Songs by Alan Katz and David Catrow, featuring silly words to well-known tunes, recast the end of the chorus as "I used one, two, three bars of soap. Take me out...I'm clean!" in its title number. In 2002, as
600-572: The Miami Marlins paid tribute to the pitcher José Fernández , who had died in a boating accident earlier that month, with a trumpet rendition during a pregame ceremony. In October 2016, actor Bill Murray , a Chicago Cubs fan, impersonated Daffy Duck as he gave his rendition of the chorus of 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game' while at game 3 of the 2016 World Series, held at Wrigley Field. In an Amazon Prime Original Series, named Costume Quest , which aired on Amazon Prime Video for two seasons,
640-669: The Tokyo Metro Namboku Line at Kōrakuen Station in Tokyo, Japan. Baseball is popular in Japan , and Korakuen Station is one of the closest stations to the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium. Instrumental parts of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" can be heard in the background music for Joe E. Brown's 1932 movie Fireman, Save My Child . In 1985, it was featured in Kidsongs "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm", which shows
680-461: The seventh-inning stretch of a baseball game. Fans are generally encouraged to sing along, and at some ballparks, the words "home team" are replaced with the team name. "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is one of the three-most recognizable songs in the US, along with " The Star-Spangled Banner " and " Happy Birthday ." However, most people are only familiar with the chorus. Jack Norworth , while riding
720-444: The surname Alström . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alström&oldid=1185906779 " Categories : Surnames Swedish-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
760-522: The 1935 Marx Brothers ' film A Night at the Opera , in one of the more unusual uses of the song, composer Herbert Stothart arranged for a full pit orchestra to segue seamlessly from the overture of Il trovatore into the chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". The 1948 film The Babe Ruth Story , a biopic of the baseball player of the same name , has this song play over the opening credits. The 1948 Fleischer Brothers cartoon, Base Brawl , features
800-649: The 365 top " Songs of the Century ", the song was credited to Billy Murray, implying his recording of it as having received the most votes among songs from the first decade. The first recorded version was by Edward Meeker . Meeker's recording was selected by the Library of Congress as a 2010 addition to the National Recording Registry , which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Below are
840-595: The Ballgame" in a commercial over video highlights of the United States Men's National Soccer Team in the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup , closing with the tagline "It's a whole new ballgame." In 2008, Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson and Tim Wiles (from the Baseball Hall of Fame) wrote a comprehensive book on the history of the song, Baseball's Greatest Hit: The Story of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' . The book, published by Hal Leonard Books, included
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#1732802513196880-467: The United States (worldwide copyright remains until 70 years after the composers' deaths), but the copyright to the revised 1927 lyrics remains in effect. It has been used as an instrumental underscore or introduction to many films or skits having to do with baseball. The first verse of the 1927 version is sung by Dan Hornsby for Columbia Records 1544-D (148277). The Hoosier Hot Shots recorded
920-827: The game and be thinking all the time." He played for the Yankees’ victory over the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Championship Series in 2009, and subsequently played for Game 1 of the World Series, when the Phillies beat the Yankees. New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini , on hearing Alstrom playing in the new Yankee Stadium, said "I wish the Yankees would let their organists play more." Alstrom has been
960-434: The home team If they don't win, it's a shame. For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, At the old ball game. Katie Casey saw all the games, Knew the players by their first names. Told the umpire he was wrong, All along, Good and strong. When the score was just two to two, Katie Casey knew what to do, Just to cheer up the boys she knew, She made the gang sing this song: Though not so indicated in
1000-686: The instrumental tune of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is to be played in a harmonica for the door in Norm's junk shop to open which is filled with magical costumes. In the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building , character Charles-Haden Savage played part of the chorus on a concertina (Season 1, Episode 4 "The Sting"). The piece for narrator and orchestra Lifting the Curse with music by Julian Wachner and spoken text by Bill Littlefield extensively quotes
1040-540: The kids playing baseball. Also, Kirk Gibson of the Detroit Tigers is seen hitting a home run during the 1984 World Series . The episode of Sam & Cat entitled "#MagicATM" featured the chorus, but with modified and nonsensical lyrics that start with "Take me down to the basement, fill the buckets with cheese." The melody of the chorus was used as the intro of a baseball-themed song from The Electric Company ; "J.J to Brenda to Mark". In September 2016,
1080-518: The lyrics of the 1908 version, which is out of copyright. Katie Casey was baseball mad, Had the fever and had it bad. Just to root for the home town crew, Ev'ry sou Katie blew. On a Saturday her young beau Called to see if she'd like to go To see a show, but Miss Kate said "No, I'll tell you what you can do:" Chorus Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd; Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack , I don't care if I never get back. Let me root, root, root for
1120-403: The lyrics, the chorus is usually sung with a pause in the middle of the word "Cracker", giving 'Cracker Jack' a pronunciation "Crac—ker Jack". Also, there is a noticeable pause between the first and second words "root". The song (or at least its chorus) has been recorded or cited countless times since it was written. The original music and 1908 lyrics of the song are now in the public domain in
1160-802: The music director of Central Presbyterian Church in Montclair, New Jersey , since 2016. He also is an accompanist—in piano, guitar, and organ—and choir director at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He was a music teacher and choir director at Golda Och Academy in West Orange from 2017–19, where he worked to get his students out of the mindset that "this is their grandparents’ music." He worked at Essex Valley School in West Caldwell, New Jersey from 2019–2021, and at Warren Middle School in 2022. Alstrom creates solo compositions, including
1200-616: The music that went into the keyboards, and produced a video for Casio entitled "Play Electronic Keyboard Today." He lives in Montville, New Jersey , where he has been married to music educator and pianist Maxine Alstrom since 1985. They have two daughters, Sophie and Nina. Alstrom describes himself as an "itinerant musician" and has played for synagogues, churches, feature films, Broadway musicals and at Yankee Stadium. He has performed with Chuck Berry , Leonard Bernstein , Bette Midler , Herbie Hancock , and Steely Dan . He played in
1240-529: The organist for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field . Take Me Out to the Ballgame " 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 North American baseball , although neither of its authors had attended a game before writing the song. The song's chorus is traditionally sung as part of
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1280-588: The original subject of the song. On July 5, 2024, during a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers game's 7th inning stretch, popular VTuber Gawr Gura performed the song at Dodger Stadium as part of a promotional crossover between Hololive Production and the MLB. Accordingly, the lyric "the home team" was changed to "the Dodgers" in her performance. The second episode of
1320-467: The pit bands for "Leader of the Pack" and "Hairspray." He is in a trio called Acid Cabaret which formed in 1997. He won a Back Stage Bistro Award for Singer/Songwriter/Instrumentalist in 2003 for his work with Acid Cabaret. In 2004 Alstrom took over for Yankees’ longtime organist, Eddie Layton , who retired after 37 years with the team. He plays at weekend home games for the team at Yankee Stadium and
1360-481: The sale of so many records, sheet music, and piano rolls, the song became one of the most popular hits of 1908. The Haydn Quartet singing group , led by popular tenor Harry MacDonough, recorded a successful version on Victor Records . Its use became popularized by Harry Caray , the announcer of the Chicago White Sox , when he began singing it during the seventh-inning stretch in 1976. He continued
1400-514: The song in 1936. Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra at the start of the MGM musical film , Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), a movie that also features a song about the famous and fictitious double play combination, O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg . In the early to mid-1980s, the Kidsongs Kids recorded a different version of this song for A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm. In the mid-1990s,
1440-513: The song in full orchestral array. It has been recorded on CD with The Landmarks Orchestra (Boston), Littlefield narrating. Prior to the NWSL 's Chicago Red Stars game against Bay FC at Wrigley Field on June 8, 2024, the Red Stars created a promotional video at the stadium featuring a modified version of the song that referenced soccer instead of baseball. The video also honored to Katie Casey,
1480-415: The time, it was the first Winter Classic to take place in a baseball stadium. In the series Homeland Nicholas Brody teaches the song to Isa Nazir to help him learn English. In the 2013 horror game Slender: The Arrival , this song may play on the radio in the first chapter of the game. From March 13, 2015, the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was adopted as the departure melody for trains on
1520-775: The tradition when he became the announcer for the Chicago Cubs in 1982 and games were nationally broadcast. The most famous recording of the song was credited to " Billy Murray and the Haydn Quartet", even though Murray did not sing on it. The confusion, nonetheless, is so pervasive that, when "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America as one of
1560-516: Was first sung by Norworth's then-wife Nora Bayes and popularized by many other vaudeville acts. It was played at a ballpark for the first known time in 1934, at a high-school game in Los Angeles ; it was played later that year during the fourth game of the 1934 World Series . Norworth wrote an alternative version of the song in 1927. (Norworth and Bayes were famous for writing and performing such smash hits as " Shine On, Harvest Moon ".) With
1600-403: Was interviewed for the position by Layton himself. Layton asked him to perform " New York, New York ," " Take Me Out to the Ballgame ," " Happy Birthday ," " The Star-Spangled Banner ," and " O Canada " in an audition that Alstrom says took five minutes. He played at the final game at the old Yankee Stadium on Sept. 21, 2008, playing " Goodnight, Sweetheart " among other music. Alstrom plays
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