garimpo Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Orgin of song "God bless America"Do you remember Kate Smith? Frank Sinatra considered Kate Smith the bestsinger of her time, and said that when he and a million other guys first heardher sing "God Bless America" on the radio, they all pretended to havedust in their eyes as they wiped away a tear or two.Here are the facts... The link at the bottom will take you to a videoshowing the very first public singing of "GOD BLESS AMERICA".But before you watch it, you should also know the story behind the first publicshowing of the song. The time was 1940. America was still in a terribleeconomic depression. Hitler was taking over Europeand Americans were afraid we'd have to go to war. It was a time of hardship andworry for most Americans. This was the era just before TV, when radio showswere HUGE, and American families sat around their radios in the evenings,listening to their favorite entertainers, and no entertainer of that era wasbigger than Kate Smith. Kate was also large; plus size, as we now say,and the popular phrase still used today is in deference to her, "It ain'tover till the fat lady sings". Kate Smith might not have made it big inthe age of TV, but with her voice coming over the radio, she was the biggeststar of her time. Kate was also patriotic. It hurt her to seeAmericans so depressed and afraid of what the next day would bring. She hadhope for America,and faith in her fellow Americans. She wanted to do something to cheer them up,so she went to the famous American song-writer, Irving Berlin (who also wrote"White Christmas") and asked him to write a song that would makeAmericans feel good again about their country. When she described whatshe was looking for, he said he had just the song for her. He went to his files and found a song that he hadwritten, but never published, 22 years before - way back in 1917. He gave it toand she worked on it with her studio orchestra. She and Irving Berlinwere not sure how the song would be received by the public, but both agreedthey would not take any profits from God Bless America. Any profits would go tothe Boy Scouts of America.Over the years, the Boy Scouts have received millions of dollars in royaltiesfrom this song. This video starts out with Kate Smith coming intothe radio studio with the orchestra and an audience. She introduces the newsong for the very first time, and starts singing. After the first coupleverses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown fromthe 1940 movie, "You're In The Army Now." At the 4:20 mark ofthe video you see a young actor in the movie, sitting in an office, reading apaper; it's Ronald Reagan. To this day, God Bless America stirs our patrioticfeelings and pride in our country. Back in 1940, when Kate Smith wentlooking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, I doubtwhether she realized just how successful the results would be for her fellowAmericans during those years of hardship and worry..... and for manygenerations of Americans to follow. Now that you know the story of thesong, I hope you'll enjoy it and treasure it even more. Many people don't know there's a lead in to the song since itusually starts with "God Bless America....." So here's theentire song as originally sung.http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?feature=player_embedded&v=TnQDW-NMaRs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser John Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 WOW-THANX-been a long time-John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucket Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Fast forward 70 yrs and badda bing-badda boom!!!.....we got Oprah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klunker Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 How did we get from Kate Smith to miley cyrus. Where are we going and why are we in a hand basket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaimi Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Aloha Don, Wow, that one sure brings back some great memories of sitting around the floor and listening to the radio shows with my parents and sisters. I really looked forward to "The Shadow" and a couple of the other radio programs at the time. Used to be in bed by 8ap and up at 6am for breakfast around the table (not in front of a tv or computer like the kids now). Ah them were the days! Kids nowadays think they have it all and maybe they do BUT they sure don't appreciate it more than e did. Thanks for these memories. Aloha and yes, God Bless America for we surely need HIS help now. Stan aka Kaimi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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