'Don't Let Us Down:' Albany area children's choir to update 1992 song performed at U.S. Capitol

Alan Mauldin, The Albany Herald, Ga.
·2 min read

Nov. 24—ALBANY — Henry Thomas says he is hoping for another jolt of the lightning that struck three decades ago, when the voices of Albany-area youths were heard in Washington, D.C., and across the nation.

In 1992, a group of children who performed the song "America Don't Let Us Down, the Kids," won top honors at the annual National Independence Day Parade, Thomas said, and the effort to make another trip 30 years later starts on Saturday.

Registration and rehearsals for ages 2 to 12 will be held at weekend casting calls scheduled for 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at Platinum Sound Recording Studio, 523 W. Broad Ave., in Albany.

"We got a call to unity," said Thomas, a minister and founder and CEO of the Georgia Music Association, which was launched to facilitate the trip and recording of the 1992 version of the song. "That's what God's calling me to do.

"We're putting money into football and sports and all kinds of things. That hasn't worked; we're still divided as a country ... different parties, different ideologies."

The song's message is for the adults to come together to build a better future for the kids of today and tomorrow.

"We think it's pertinent for the children in '22 to ask 'don't let us down,' and in '23 perform (during) a national appearance," Thomas said.

The plan is to make a CD and DVD of an Albany performance. Along with sales of those and the original CD, as well as T-shirts and other items, the minister says he hopes to raise money for a D.C. trip.

In 1993 the group that made that journey got to visit Congress, and the U.S. House member representing Albany at the time read their accomplishments into the Congressional Record, Thomas said. President George H.W. Bush and Georgia Gov. Zell Miller also issued proclamations recognizing the group.

"We're going to send a video in hopes of being selected (for the Fourth celebrations)," he said of the 2022 recording sessions.

Thomas said he also hopes to set aside a portion of proceeds to benefit children in the area.

Cheryl Lewis, assistant to the CEO for the project, is driving the recruitment effort, and she said she hopes that some of the children of the original participants will be a part of the production.

"I'm hoping for the kids to come together on this song, because this song has a meaning that the kids need the adults to help them find a way to live successfully and happy and experience things in life," she said.