Curious as to everyone's opinion on the Centennial Concert at the Ford Center Friday night. I thought it was pretty good, talent and production wise. But I wonder if anyone knows why Garth Brooks did not perform?

I thought the Centennial Commission really blew this one. They had decent talent there, however the set looked real cheap and the program had no flow to it (I watched it on OETA, wasn't there in person). They would have a country singer, then the Flaming Lips, country singer, guy from GMA reading centenials names, country singer, local B list celebrity, miss americas, country singer, All American Rejects, country singer, etc........... I thought it would have been much better to do the show in acts or segments or have some sort of theme, like have all the country acts play back to back, the 2 rock bands (should have been more) play after each other, comedians, politicians, sports stars go back to back, etc.

I'm sure Garth wanted more money than they were willing to pay. Sad he barely claims Oklahoma and never plays here, yet they basically let him be one of the headliners. They tamed down the Flaming Lips since the median age of the crowd was probably 60.

For the money the tickets were going for on Ebay and Craigslist ($300-$2000) I sure know I would have been disappointed if I spent that kind of money. A person could see U2, Rollingstones, or anyone for that kind of money at any venue in the world such as Madison Square Garden or the O2 in London.

I won't really complain about the flow, but I'd be pretty ticked too...they gave way too much time to Willard Scott I thought...no offense to the people who are 100+. I also don't know why they had Amy Grant in there unless that was a condition for Vince singing....seems as though they could have made it ONLY a music show and had a lot more acts in it and made it a lot more worth the money.

The Miss American thing is getting kinda old too...

Leave it to metro to pick this thing apart. BIG SURPRISE there.

I thought they did a really good job other than a few technical hiccups, which are understandable considering they happen even on the Oscars or the AMAs. Live is always tricky.

I thought the set was incredible. The "eagle" number in Cirque du Soliel style was absolutely AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING.

The fact that it wasn't just a concert is what made it worthy of being the "capstone" event. Posters and publicity made it look like it was just going to be a big concert of Oklahoma stars, but it really wasn't. It was a huge, Emmy-worthy live event celebrating Oklahoma with some of our most recognizable faces participating. There was a good mix (catch that metro? mix it up...) of country, rock, native american music/dancing, broadway-style, comedy, retrospective videos (loved the video from the 50th anniversary) choral music, and orchestral music. The lighting was very professional and the camera work as well. The shot of Reba on "If I Had Only Known" where the camera circled her almost 720 degrees was phenomenal.

PLEASE stop whining and just celebrate Oklahoma.

I agree with JBrown - they tried to have something for everyone and that had to be a huge task to accomplish. Loved the look on that one guy's face when the lead singer from the All American Rejects sang to him - that was priceless!

Yes, jbrown I caught that and I respect your opinon, but I have promoted a few large concerts and movies in my day and understand how things should flow. I understand diversity or "mixing it up" as you say. As you can see in the other Centennial Spectacular thread, I'm not the only one who thought it was less than spectacular as the name implies:

http://www.okctalk.com/current-events/11552-centennial-spectacular.html#post119844

I'm not saying it wasn't a good event. I'm saying it wasn't a "Spectacular" or great of an event as it could of been, especially given the interest in the event and the cost of tickets. Due to supply/demand, tickets were sold on ebay and craigslist for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. An event that worthy it was not and I think most would agree it didn't warrant the $300-$2000 price per ticket in my book. I personally think it would have flowed better if they would have done a theme such as past/present/future. They could have done the past with the Partridge Lady, Reba, Garth, Miss Americas, etc./ Present with the Lips and Carrie Underwood, and Future with rising stars in Oklahoma. It was more of an eclectic mix that didn't really push a "central vision" if you will.

Okay, you and one other person didn't like it....


I disagree about the flow. I work in Television as well and had no issues with it. And again you go with vague descriptions about how it just wasn't "spectacular enough" etc. What exactly does that mean? You wanted more rock bands in there? Wayne Coyne should have been able to walk all over those old people in his bubble? You wanted the fireworks to burn the place down? What????

I would have liked to see it not done in the Ford center. A huge outdoor concert (150+ in attendance) starting at 2 pm. Having the stage with the skyline in the background would have been way cooler. Yea sure you can never know what the weather will do, but it can be adjusted for.

Or something like the capitol dome dedication...a great event.

It was obviously designed for a big TV production so more people could see it, and an indoor location was better for that, but I agree the dome dedication was really nice.

I thought it was interesting...and the eagle part was awesome...but it was not at all what was advertised.

I couldn't pay the high ticket price...so we went to the Redhawks and watched it on the screen there. There were lots of people that left after it started because it was not what they expected it to be. A concert with longer performances by the "headliners".

I think it's great that it was what it was...but I do have two co-workers that are very upset and felt mislead about what they paid so much to see.

Yeah it wasn't just a concert, which is good IMO, but I understand why some people may have expected a traditional concert with the headliners singing a 20 minute set or whatever. That wouldn't have been a fitting "spectacular" in my opinion.

I kind of picked on it some in the other thread, but my pickings were rather small, and focused on what I thought were a few "eh" moments.

Frankly, I don't remember how it was "advertised." I certainly did not expect a full concert from anyone or even a few artists. I appreciated seeing the diversity.
Afterall, this wasn't about the artists, it was about who we are as a state.

For those who haven't tuned in, OKLAHOMA is A LOT MORE than COUNTRY MUSIC.

To me, it was a celebration of the accomplishments of who we are as a people, and yes, that's includes folks who won't be heard on KXY or KTST.

I also didn't mind the "flow," as it were. While I agree, it did seem incongruous at times, and perhaps a "past," "present," "future" production might have also made sense, I think this "spectacular" really focused on what makes us unique as a culture, and a state. And I will never forget Barry Switzer introducing the Flaming Lips!

FYI - I did see on one of the Oklahoman message boards that someone claiming to be close to an employee of OK Events said Toby was the only artist demanding payment for his performance (thank god my dvr missed that one), and that Garth was asked to sing, but flatly said "no." When I went back and looked at him in the press conference, he rather looked dour, there, too. As if someone had pulled his teeth to attend.

As much as I'm really not a fan of country music, I really enjoyed both Vince, Carrie, and especially Reba, who I thought was one of the best performers of the night.

It might not have been "spectacular" in everyone's eyes, but it certainly was a spectacle. Of course, I wasn't there in person, so didn't pay to get in. The staging looked great from tv.

Very well said ParksGal.

I agree with what was said earlier...If I had paid to go, I probably would have been upset as well...because it really did sound like it was being promoted as a concert, since the names they threw out there most were musicians.

Not saying it was terrible, but I think its too bad that it had to be that misleading....and once again, get Amy Grant the crap off stage...she's a talented person, but her and that song had nothing to do with Oklahoma.

metro,

While I often find myself in agreement with you, I think you would be wise to occasionally follow the axiom about the wise man keeping his mouth shut. I'm no Garth fan, but I've never heard of him not claiming Oklahoma as his home. He is known around the world as an Oklahoman, something he has always been proud of. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, GARTH BROOKS IS A CURRENT RESIDENT OF OKLAHOMA, as he has built a large megamansion near Owasso, where he lives more than half of the year.

Why was Amy Grant performing? Other than screwing around with Vince Gill, is she even from Oklahoma? If screwing an Oklahoman was a requirement, surely they could have dredged up something better than that maudlin, caterwauling mess.

Count me among those impressed with Carrie Underwood. She is a superstar. I've seen Reba once before (though I can't believe it) and she was not up to her usual self.

I cannot stand Toby Keith but I thought his performance was quite good. Of course, I'm a huge Lips fan so I enjoyed the weirdness of seeing them perform in front of that crowd.

All in all, the show was marked by rather amateurish production, with hokey commentary. Still, it was a fairly impressive night considering it was a Lee Allan Smith production.

What's wrong with Amy Grant? She married an Okie, she sings well. I'm not a fan of either of them, but ripping on her because she wasn't born here seems a bit silly to me.

To be honest, I'd rather hear her than Toby Keith.

I watched the whole thing on TV, and thought it flowed just fine. But then again, I've never promoted any large concerts or movies in my day and am therefore unqualified to have an opinion on the matter.

I thought, for what it was, they did a pretty good job in condensing the live Lips experience down to one song, in that venue, for that audience. They had the band, the aliens, the Santas, the confetti, and the balloons. What more could they have done? The huge projection screen with the vintage topless chicks dancing around? Nah. They did fine.


...they gave way too much time to Willard Scott I thought...no offense to the people who are 100+.

Did they give him that much time, or did he just take that much time?


FYI - I did see on one of the Oklahoman message boards that someone claiming to be close to an employee of OK Events said Toby was the only artist demanding payment for his performance

Not at all surprising, if it's true. The man has single-handedly turned douchebaggery into an art form.

(Still sad, though.)

Does anybody know if and when this will be re-aired on pbs? I for one did not even care to watch it. After I attended the anniversary of the Murrah last year at the Ford Center - I would have rather shot cannons off in my ears to sit through another event like that one. But I am rather curious to at least dvr the thing and watch parts of it to see what you guys are talking about.
I had a friend attend who knows nothing about concerts or music and she loved it. I had a good friend in the music biz who was a part of it and he said it sucked horribly.

I thought, for what it was, they did a pretty good job in condensing the live Lips experience down to one song, in that venue, for that audience. They had the band, the aliens, the Santas, the confetti, and the balloons. What more could they have done? The huge projection screen with the vintage topless chicks dancing around? Nah. They did fine.

Don't know if anyone caught the pre-show press conference. I never saw Wayne speak, but he was back there with the others wearing a great big smile on his face.

My favorite moment was when Carrie Underwood was talking about how "big" this whole thing was and said she saw someone in a really big "creature" costume backstage and wasn't sure what that was all about! Must have been one of the Lips' resident aliens or santas!!



Not at all surprising, if it's true. The man has single-handedly turned douchebaggery into an art form.

(Still sad, though.)

Can't disagree with you on this one! We have friends who are very much acquainted with him through the OU Athletic Dept. and they've mentioned that he's not the nicest guy in the world - especially if you're not David Boren, Bob Stoops, and/or Joe Castiglione. They say he kind of acts like "who are you again" each time he sees them, which during the Basketball season is fairly regularly.[/QUOTE]

Garth was on KOCO5 last night on the 6pm and 10pm news. They asked him why he didn't sing one of his own songs. At 6pm they asked him and he said "The Centennial Commission didn't ask me but I'm glad they asked me to be a part of this big event". At the 10pm news they were supposed to interview the Centennial Commission as to why they didn't ask Garth to sing. I didn't catch the 10pm interview, so I don't know what their reasoning or excuse was. I tried finding it on KOCO's website, but can't seem to locate the interview. If someone else can, please post a link.

Garth was on KOCO5 last night on the 6pm and 10pm news. They asked him why he didn't sing one of his own songs. At 6pm they asked him and he said "The Centennial Commission didn't ask me but I'm glad they asked me to be a part of this big event". At the 10pm news they were supposed to interview the Centennial Commission as to why they didn't ask Garth to sing. I didn't catch the 10pm interview, so I don't know what their reasoning or excuse was. I tried finding it on KOCO's website, but can't seem to locate the interview. If someone else can, please post a link.

And noone else is upset that we were mislead by the fact that he was billed as a headlining act?

My favorite moment was when Carrie Underwood was talking about how "big" this whole thing was and said she saw someone in a really big "creature" costume backstage and wasn't sure what that was all about! Must have been one of the Lips' resident aliens or santas!!

It was probably the American Indians in costume.

And noone else is upset that we were mislead by the fact that he was billed as a headlining act?

That may have been part of his agreement to participate, and as such, how the show was billed was out of the control of the Centennial Commission. Even in shows like this, where you have multiple artists coming together for a single "cause," the agents and artist promoters still want to take their nudge and ensure that their artists get "the billing."

(It's also possible that the higher-ups at OK Events "promised" Garth top billing in exchange for his participation, whatever that was to be.)

In shows I've worked on in the past, how an artist is advertised is written into the contract for that artist's services. Even if these people did not get "paid" (theoretically), that doesn't mean their agents didn't "wrangle" for artist position in the advertising.

Then again, I first heard about this show about a year ago. The ONLY artsits names I heard at that time were Garth, Vince and Reba, most likely because they hadn't secured the others' participation.

In the words of the original showman himself, one P.T. Barnum, "There's a sucker born every minute!" And in the words of one Ralph Nader, "Caveat Emptor!" (Buyer Beware).

Edit: According to this article HistoryBuff.com -- P. T. Barnum Never Did Say "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute" (http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html), Barnum didn't, in fact, say "there's a sucker born every minute." That was actually said by his competitor, but is misattributed to Barnum.

He was billed as a headliner, but nothing ever said he was singing. It's kind of funny because I heard all kinds of rumors that the Lips and AAR were not performing, but just "making appearances". Guess there were a lot of unfounded assumptions going.

I frankly could care less about Garth singing.

I frankly could care less about Garth singing.

Me either, but I do feel bad for the people that shelled out good money, expecting to see him play.


"The Centennial Commission didn't ask me but I'm glad they asked me to be a part of this big event".

How do you have Garth Brooks make an appearance at an event like that, and not have him do a song? That's what he does. He just did nine shows in Kansas City.

Something fishy's going on here, and it smells like it's coming from underneath Garth's cowboy hat. . .

Well obviously if he refused to sing for whatever reason, he's not going to admit that to Jessica Schambach.

The Oklahoman ran an "official" explanation regarding Garth's non-singing appearance on p. 2 today (inside, top right corner). You can also find the online article at: NewsOK: Why Garth Brooks didn't sing at event (http://newsok.com/article/3171318/)

Looks like someone took Advertising 101 at a used car dealership. Kind of like our parade "5 years in the making"

whew! glad that was covered...i mean cleared up!!
does anybody else smell that???

What's wrong with Amy Grant? She married an Okie, she sings well. I'm not a fan of either of them, but ripping on her because she wasn't born here seems a bit silly to me.

To be honest, I'd rather hear her than Toby Keith.

I'm not really ripping Amy Grant as a person, but a valid point was made - how many other equally qualified people are MARRIED to Oklahomans? I Just think they probably could have put someone else in her place that have had a much stronger Oklahoma connection.

I honestly can't think of anyone else that's married to an Oklahoman that's more qualified except Julie Andrews, but she doesn't sing anymore.


The explanation for Garth not singing on Newsok makes PERFECT SENSE to me. People need to get over it. If you paid 140 a ticket JUST to see Garth, you were there for the wrong reasons and I don't feel sorry for you.

ParksGal makes good points. JBrown, I didn't spend the money *just* to see him, I wanted to see all the acts (other than Amy Grant) as I find some level of interest in most of it. Kansas City is the main argument of mine as well, however I didn't want any of them to plug their new material. I just think that's a bit dishonest to consider him an "act" when he didn't really do anything. I paid the money to see every bit of it, not just "most of them". Now I understand your argument that I should've enjoyed it all, and I did for much of it (though I thought it was particularly amusing to have Reba singing a tribute to the fallen in the Federal Building and several ...people shout how much they love her. Show some respect, good lord.) but I just felt shafted. What about if all of the headliners presented some even more two-bit acts of which hold no relevance to Oklahoma? I just expected a bit more than that.

He was never called an "act" by anything official. His picture was on a poster real big. That's it.

My mistake. Is "scheduled to appear" better?

No matter how you spin it, it's still misleading. It could've been any other entertainer. Hell, if Amy Grant was top billed and she didn't perform, I'd still be upset. I'm not *that* big of a fan of Garth, I just think that's very misleading no matter if it hurts your feelings.

I can agree with both sides of the "Garth" issue although I'm not a Garth or country music fan. I see how one could have been misled or overpaid for a ticket. It's more of a ethic thing with me. Oklahoma is where Garth is from and who gave him his success and support in the early years. If people expected one song then he should have gave it to them. Heck, he can do 9 sold out shows in Kansas City and can't sing one song for OKC? That's the point I was trying to make.

Unfortunately, "scheduled to appear" makes no promises of anyone singing. However, given Garth's status as a singer, an obvious connection - and expectation - is created.

It is really sad that most of our Oklahoma country artists - including others who participated in the Centennial, will, when planning their great big national tours, forego OKC and their own home state in favor of larger venues and bigger opportunities in other major cities such as Dallas and KC. Oklahomans then have to leave their own state to go see these artists.

Guess it's all on the quest for the almighty dollar!

Metro, did you not read the explanation on Newsok? The program was already scripted and timed for TV well before Garth decided to come out of retirement. It was out of everybody's hands.

Metro, did you not read the explanation on Newsok? The program was already scripted and timed for TV well before Garth decided to come out of retirement. It was out of everybody's hands.

Did you really buy that? God forbid if OETA had to go over for a few minutes in its coverage. The Academy Awards manage to do it almost every year.

The argument about Garth showing up and not belting out a tune when he's advertised as "Scheduled to appear," seems pretty basic to me. Since this worked so well this time, maybe the next time Journey comes through Oklahoma City for the 50th time they can put Paul McCartney's picture on the poster and say he's "scheduled to appear," and then just pay for a plane ticket and a seat at the concert and just have him stand up and wave and say a few words. Apparently, with some of you, that's okay? Is that what would you would expect?

I don't buy that excuse one bit.

The concert was shown on OETA and will probably be sold as a DVD for 39.99 or some outrageous price. What's an extra 2 or 3 minutes of time? It's OETA fer cryin' out loud. We're not talking about pre-empting a show on ABC or a major network.

I wasn't that upset, as I went to KC to see Garth, and have seen him many times before, but to be billed as a headliner and just talk about the Murrah Bombing for a couple minutes?

Weak...

For the record, the show DID run over 2 hours. In TV production, time is money, even for OETA, which is a not-for-profit station.

I set my DVR for the alloted time 7-9 p.m., just like it prompted and had been scheduled. It cut off when the Miss America retrospect started, right after our 2006 winner. I missed whatever their contribution was, plus Toby (no loss in my book), and/or other acts, including the Grand Finale.

I figure it ran over about 20 minutes. To this day, I still don't know what the finale was.

Well, in a story over at OKCfriday.com, they quote Lee Allen Smith as saying that they did "ask Garth to sing" but he said he couldn't because of contractual issues. Something in his contract with Wal Mart that now controls his entire catalog of music. They even quote Lee Allen Smith as saying just before Garth went on...“We told him as he was going on stage, ‘If you want to grab a guitar and sing, we can work around it.”

So he was asked...the refused because of contractual issues.

Well, in a story over at OKCfriday.com, they quote Lee Allen Smith as saying that they did "ask Garth to sing" but he said he couldn't because of contractual issues. Something in his contract with Wal Mart that now controls his entire catalog of music. They even quote Lee Allen Smith as saying just before Garth went on...“We told him as he was going on stage, ‘If you want to grab a guitar and sing, we can work around it.”

So he was asked...the refused because of contractual issues.

If that IS the case, his PR person should have come out and said "Unfortunately, Mr. Brooks has outside contractual obligations that prevented him from being able to sing at this particular event."

There. Simple and TRANSPARENT!!! None of this other BS.

Yet another reason why Wal Mart is the plague of the earth!

I don't buy that Wal Mart thing. Sorry, but why would Wal Mart be able to say when, where and for what purpose Garth wants to sing? Especially for an event that is celebrating the birthday of the state where he is from. Wal Mart doesn't own Garth Brook's music. I just Googled that and can't find that he has sold the rights to his music to Wal Mart. That's where you can buy his music (exclusively, which is weird). But, that's another lame excuse. Sounds like passing the buck to me.

I did find one thing of interest. Garth is being asked to dump his affiliation with Wal Mart by a group of Wal Mart workers.
Friends with Low Wages (http://www.walmartworkersrights.org/)
on edit----- I just watched the flash video - it's hilarious!
I forgot, we can embed YouTube videos! here it is...
Z1ssoX3TWsk

According to the Wal-Mart website, the retailer has exclusive rights to his entire catalog, which was sold off by his original producing group many years ago.

The article can be found HERE (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/garth/news_2005-08-19.jsp?dept=4104)

Not sure if they are sponsoring his tour or not, but if they are, then yes, solitude, they "own" the man, and can dictacte what singing appearances he can / cannot make.

It's also possible that they did say "sure, you can have him, for the small price of $$$," a number which was too rich for the production's blood.

Having witnessed first hand that "side" of the business, it is completely plausible to me.

The article at OKCFriday.com also notes that Wal Mart bought Garth's entire music catalog. Which means in effect, he cannot perform any of his songs without Wal Mart's permission. Can you imagine the money they paid for that catalog? It must have been beyond imagination. There is no telling how much money that guy has. He was quoted as saying in the past that he has so much money that his "kids, kids, kids" couldn't spend all of it. Must be rough. Got to give the guy credit. He earned it.

Not only that, but I sincerely doubt Lee Allan would risk ticking Wal-Mart off by making an untruthful comment about them to the media. I would hate to be on the losing end of that defamation suit.

In other news, you can view a Centennial preview on Jones PR's website, www.jonesprinc.com. You can also go to YouTube to see various clips from the Spectacular. This one (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7407698456023617611&q=centennial+spectacular&total=15&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1) pulls up the Native American fancy dancers and eagle aerial acrobatic act.

Had there been no gate fees at the show, and it was totally free to attend, then maybe there wouldn't have been an issue. But since there was a huge gate fee, then Wal Mart was due royalties for performance of their song(s) by their artist. And that was probably more trouble than it was worth. I don't know if any attempts were made to get permission from Wal Mart, but maybe they would have consented to one or two songs. Maybe not. We don't know if that avenue was pursued. Probably not. But who knows.

Not only that, but I sincerely doubt Lee Allan would risk ticking Wal-Mart off by making an untruthful comment about them to the media. I would hate to be on the losing end of that defamation suit.

In other news, you can view a Centennial preview on Jones PR's website, www.jonesprinc.com. You can also go to YouTube to see various clips from the Spectacular. This one (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7407698456023617611&q=centennial+spectacular&total=15&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1) pulls up the Native American fancy dancers and eagle aerial acrobatic act.
Thanks, ParksGal ... very nice videos

According to the Wal-Mart website, the retailer has exclusive rights to his entire catalog, which was sold off by his original producing group many years ago.

The article can be found HERE (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/garth/news_2005-08-19.jsp?dept=4104)

Not sure if they are sponsoring his tour or not, but if they are, then yes, solitude, they "own" the man, and can dictacte what singing appearances he can / cannot make.

It's also possible that they did say "sure, you can have him, for the small price of $$$," a number which was too rich for the production's blood.

Having witnessed first hand that "side" of the business, it is completely plausible to me.

Well, where I'm from, they call that selling your soul.

Well, where I'm from, they call that selling your soul.

He probably did it because of piracy.

Long before the intertubes were mainstream, before Napster was a gleam in the eye of college students, before "music piracy" was a term used very often...Garth Brooks had big issues with places that sold used CD's. From what I recall, he wouldn't allow stores that carried used CD's to sell his stuff...Because he didn't get a cut off of the used sales. So it wouldn't surprise me if there's some of that reasoning used here. WalMart also has the wholesome thing going.

Minor rant there...In a WalMart, I may be safe from the words sh*t, p*ss, and a few others (unless something has changed recently, they will not carry unedited CD's)...But I can walk two aisles over and buy a movie full of nekkid boobs, or 3 aisles over and buy a shotgun. They've got some wonky logic.

Garth Brooks had big issues with places that sold used CD's. From what I recall, he wouldn't allow stores that carried used CD's to sell his stuff...Because he didn't get a cut off of the used sales. So it wouldn't surprise me if there's some of that reasoning used here.

That is bizarre. I guess he would expect an author to get royalties on a used book? That sounds like good old-fashioned greed to me. Well, he hooked up with the right company. They sound like a good match.

That is bizarre. I guess he would expect an author to get royalties on a used book? That sounds like good old-fashioned greed to me. Well, he hooked up with the right company. They sound like a good match.

That's what I was thinking. But I should mention that this was from around....oh...1994 or so. My memory isn't the best, and I don't recall where I read/heard it at the time.

I'm not a country music fan, but I like his music and I've been to many of his concerts (they've always been top-notch). You know WalMart stacked up mad cash to get a deal like that with him.

On edit ... finally got the YouTube code figured out ... be aware, though, that if you start one video while another is running, the sound will get pretty messy! For help with this, see the very last item in this FAQ thread: http://www.okctalk.com/misc.php?do=bbcode

Opening song, Vince & Reba:

OVKVuap22Nw

Carrie Underwood:

ie4J-Xfw17A

Fancy Dancers & Flame & Eagle:

Zs1uf4J_UEs

Finale:

YoI9aokNmQ8

:tiphat:

Gawd, I got it figured out ... the FAQ mentioned in my edited post, above, tells how ... the trick appears to be NOT to use the full html address ... just the last part ... and then surround it with "You Tube" code ...

I think I figured that out about the same time you did :D

I'll clean mine out.

Oh, and thanks for the videos!

Gawd, this has got me wondering ... can we embed video code which is NOT YouTube? For example, I've made some flash videos posted in my website server ... can those or other non-YouTube flash files be "shown" here, also? I know how to do this in html code but not vB ...

I think I figured that out about the same time you did :D

I'll clean mine out.

Oh, and thanks for the videos!
You're welcome, but it was ParksGal ... http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-area-talk/11557-centennial-concert-2.html#post119992 ... that set me down the path ... she's the one that deserves the credit