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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the Harris Family Band on | ||||||
| 4 | the occasion of its 60th anniversary on July 4, 2026; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, The Harris Family Band began to develop when | ||||||
| 6 | Allan, the son of Al and Jaunita Harris, was given a guitar and | ||||||
| 7 | chord book at the age of ten; his passion for music led his | ||||||
| 8 | father to quickly obtain instruments for Allan's siblings, | ||||||
| 9 | Gwen, Max, Shawn, John, and Chris, and the children soon | ||||||
| 10 | became a band known as the Little Big Shots; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, The Harris Family Band first performed as the | ||||||
| 12 | Little Big Shots at Lake Springfield's DAV Club on July 4, 1966 | ||||||
| 13 | after Joe Madonna saw the children rehearse at their home; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, The Harris Family Band spent their summers | ||||||
| 15 | performing in venues around the Midwest, often opening for | ||||||
| 16 | celebrity performers; with the exception of three years spent | ||||||
| 17 | in Texas, the family kept Springfield as a home base as the | ||||||
| 18 | band gained notoriety; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, The members of the Harris Family Band continued | ||||||
| 20 | to make music as adults, using the name Bustin' Loose for local | ||||||
| 21 | concerts and performing regionally and nationally as the | ||||||
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| 1 | Harris Family Band; the group has had multiple syndicated | ||||||
| 2 | television performances, including several on The Nashville | ||||||
| 3 | Network (TNN); and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, The history of the Harris Family Band has had | ||||||
| 5 | many highlights, including concerts at seven state fairs from | ||||||
| 6 | Illinois to Arizona and several syndicated and nationally | ||||||
| 7 | televised performances; the band has played at the Grand Ole | ||||||
| 8 | Opry with headliner Sawyer Brown, at Disney's EPCOT with Billy | ||||||
| 9 | Ray Cyrus, and at Texas Motor Speedway prior to a NASCAR race | ||||||
| 10 | in 2010; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, The Harris Family Band is the longest-running | ||||||
| 12 | sibling band with original members in the United States; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, The Harris Family Band marks 60 years of | ||||||
| 14 | performances on July 4, 2026 and will celebrate with a concert | ||||||
| 15 | at the Firefighters Lake Club in Springfield on July 26, 2026; | ||||||
| 16 | therefore, be it | ||||||
| 17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 18 | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 19 | we congratulate the Harris Family Band on the occasion of its | ||||||
| 20 | 60th anniversary, and we wish its members continued success; | ||||||
| 21 | and be it further | ||||||
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to the Harris Family Band as an expression of our | ||||||
| 3 | esteem and respect. | ||||||