Chase Utley’s iconic walk-up song can be traced back to Dick Allen and a White Sox organist

Chase Utley finally carved a full-time role in the majors in 2005 after bouncing back and forth between Philadelphia and triple A. He would soon become “The Man,” punctuate a World Series title with a microphone, almost homer the Phillies to another crown, and leave town as one of the city’s all-time beloved sports figures.

First, he needed a walk-up song.

Utley had been using a song by The Vengaboys — “The Vengabus is coming and everybody’s jumping,” the 1999 hit went — since he was in college at UCLA. It was funny so Utley, a creature of habit, just told the Phillies to keep playing it. His teammates soon had enough, forcing Utley to put some thought into the tune that played as he left the on-deck circle.

» READ MORE: The making of an icon: How Chase Utley became 'The Man' for the Phillies

“Obviously,” Utley said, “knowing my story, I wasn’t a huge fan of …”

Anything extra?

“Yes. Extra stuff that brought attention to myself,” Utley said. “The walk-up music wasn’t something that was the first thing on my mind, but you kind of have to fall in line with what everyone else is doing so you have to figure out a walk-up song.”

Utley begrudgingly picked a new song and his selection — “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin — would eventually provide the soundtrack for his career. In Philadelphia, that song’s opening chords are almost just as synonymous with Utley’s compact left-handed swing as they are with Jimmy Page’s riffs.

His choice became iconic, easily the most memorable walk-up song in franchise history.

But finding a new song was initially a tedious task for a player who just wanted to play. And if he needed anyone to blame, Utley could have looked back to 1972 — 50 years ago this summer — and pointed his finger at Dick Allen and a Comiskey Park organist.

It would have been hard to imagine Nancy Faust changing baseball history when she marked her first day as the White Sox organist by playing the national anthem during a moment of silence. But Faust, who was 23 when she started providing the sounds in 1970 at Comiskey Park, recovered from that gaffe.

“It was a great time to break in. Everything was positive,” Faust said. “I was embraced by the fans.”

The White Sox lost 106 games that season, leaving it to Faust to provide the hits. Stu Holcomb, the team’s general manager, gave Faust a roster with each player’s hometown and asked if she could mix in some songs that connected to where the players were from.

“Bill Melton was from Mississippi so perhaps I’d play ‘Mississippi Mud’ for him,” Faust said. “And as time went on, I thought ‘Maybe I’ll be a little more courageous and reflect the number on their back.’ I’d play ‘One Singular Sensation’ for No. 1 or ‘Love Potion Number Nine’ for a No. 9.”

» READ MORE: Dick Allen was Philly's misunderstood superstar

“But as I reflect back, I never played anything based on a player’s skills until I was very aware of the fans’ reaction to Dick Allen.”

The White Sox acquired Allen on Dec. 2, 1971, in a trade with the Dodgers, two years after he received his wish to leave Philadelphia. Allen, the Rookie of the Year for the star-crossed 1964 Phillies, led the American League in 1972 with 37 homers and 113 RBIs. His 1.023 OPS topped the majors and Allen easily won the American League’s MVP Award, coming three votes shy of a unanimous sweep.

Faust spent the first two seasons playing her keyboard in the outfield bleachers at Comiskey Park but was moved in 1972 behind home plate, just in time to be surrounded by fans during Allen’s debut season on Chicago’s South Side. She wasn’t a big baseball fan, but it didn’t take long to feel what Sox fans thought of Allen.

“When Dick Allen came up to bat and I realized everyone was holding their breath and expecting wonderful things, I just thought of the song ‘Superstar’ as it had been popular and everyone knew it,” Faust said of the theme to Jesus Christ Superstar, which hit Broadway six months before Allen’s first game with the Sox. “I played it and twice that year, Sports Illustrated wrote, ‘Even the ballplayer has his own song.’ I guess that encouraged me to keep it up.

“At first, I probably played ‘Pennsylvania Polka’ ... but then I realized just how the fans responded to his performance and that song seemed like, ‘Wow, this is perfect for him.’ If I played it and he happened to hit a homer, it would be like, ‘He’s doing it because the organist played it.’ I just got lucky.”

And that was how walk-up music — “That wasn’t even a term then,” Faust said — was born. Soon, Faust had a specific song for every player on the White Sox, digging into her vast musical knowledge to find a tune that matched each batter. The tradition would eventually spread to every ballpark.

Allen’s song followed him back to Philadelphia three years later when he returned to the Phillies. Organist Paul Richardson added it to his mix and Veterans Stadium scoreboard flashed “Dick Allen Superstar” after his homers.

“I could have never imagined it,” said Faust, who was the White Sox organist until 2010. “I could never have imagined a term such as that. It was just something that was unique to our ballpark. Now it’s a vital part of the game and another dimension of entertainment.”

Walk-up music has become an essential element of the game, but the music is now curated by the players. All players in their home ballpark come to the plate to a song of their choosing. When the Phillies promoted Darick Hall last month, a team official stopped him after batting practice to make sure he had the right song. Even rookies have a say in song choice.

For some — like Utley — the song can become an anthem. These players came to bat for years with the same song playing in the ballpark, clearly alerting the fans as to who was stepping into the batter’s box. But others — like Bryce Harper — use multiple songs throughout the game while some — like Ryan Howard — swapped songs in and out as the season progressed.

» READ MORE: Dick Allen’s absence from the Hall of Fame is an insult to him and the friend who championed him

“My logic in songs was just getting different vibes, different feels,” Howard said. “It’s kind of like getting into that groove with the music, maybe different songs for different situations in the game. You have something a little bit different for the first at-bat, then you have something later in the game when you need a big hit, something that gets you amped up. I just wanted to have stuff that I could go out and vibe to and get into a flow, feeling good as I walked up to the plate.

“I can never imagine baseball without it.”

Utley changed his song once and that proved to be enough. He went to dinner with his wife, Jen, and sister-in-law, Amy, and told them the Phillies had asked him to pick a new song. His sister-in-law is a musician and she thought of Led Zeppelin’s 1975 hit.

“I went home, listened to it, and said, ‘You know what, the beginning of that is pretty cool. It creates some drama and has a good vibe,’” Utley said. “I tried it and must have had some success. For me, a creature of habit and someone who likes routine, I stuck with it.”

His career could lead one day to the Hall of Fame and it now has a soundtrack thanks to an invention that Allen played a part in 50 years ago. Utley will be forever tied to the song, a perfect theme for his no-nonsense style of play. But it’s funny to think about how his career highlights would play in the memories of Philadelphians if the Vengaboys were providing the soundtrack.

“That’s right,” Utley said with a laugh.