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Al Hoffman. Bear down Chicago Bears (New York: Larry Spier, Inc., c1968). Sir Georg Solti Archive. Merritt Room Mus 696.32.403 Solti
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Walter Payton and Sir Georg Solti: “We both know a winning score.” Courtesy of the Rosenthal Archives of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
In January 1986, as the Chicago Bears football team approached an NFL championship, “Bears Fever” invaded Orchestra Hall. At the conclusion of a Tchaikovsky-Liszt concert on 23 January, members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus – wearing Bears sweatshirts – streamed onstage, and Solti led the Orchestra, Chorus – and audience – in a rousing rendition of the Bears’ fight song, “Bear Down, Chicago Bears.” The “encore” was repeated at two succeeding performances, and Decca/London Records recorded the work in session on Monday, 27 January – the day after the Bears defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. The music was composed in 1941 by Al Hoffman under the pseudonym Jerry Downs. Hoffman was a songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, perhaps best known for his hit “Mairzy Doats” (“and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey”), and was co-composer of the once-popular “Papa Loves Mambo” and “If I Knew You Were Comin’, I’d’ve Baked a Cake.”
Al Hoffman. Bear Down, Chicago Bears. Perf. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus (and audience). Recorded at Orchestra Hall, Chicago, 23 January 1986 (Chicago Symphony Orchestra CSO CD98-2). Record Collection CD 30094
http://id.lib.harvard.edu/aleph/009606160/catalog