HAPPY JULY 4, EVERYONE!!!
Be
sure to go to the link and listen to it.
The
link below will take you to a video showing the very first
public singing of "GOD BLESS
AMERICA".
But
before you watch, you should also know the story of the
song.
The
time was 1940. America was still in a terrible economic
depression. Hitler was taking over Europe and Americans were
afraid we'd have to go to war. It was a time of hardship and
worry for most Americans.
This was the era just before TV, when radio shows were HUGE, and American families sat around their radios in the evenings, listening to their favorite entertainers, and no entertainer of that era was bigger than Kate Smith.
This was the era just before TV, when radio shows were HUGE, and American families sat around their radios in the evenings, listening to their favorite entertainers, and no entertainer of that era was bigger than Kate Smith.
Kate
was also large in size, and the popular phrase still used
today is in deference to her, "Ain't over till the fat lady
sings". Kate Smith might not have made it big in the age of
TV, but with her voice coming over the radio, she was the
biggest star of her time.
Kate was also very patriotic. It hurt her to see Americans so depressed and afraid of what the next day would bring. She had hope 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 (also wrote "White Christmas") and asked him to write a song that would make Americans feel good again about their country.
Kate was also very patriotic. It hurt her to see Americans so depressed and afraid of what the next day would bring. She had hope 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 (also wrote "White Christmas") and asked him to write a song that would make Americans feel good again about their country.
When
she described what she was looking for, he said he had just
the song for her. He went to his files and found a song that
he had written, but never published, 22 years before - way
back in 1917. He gave it to Kate Smith and she worked on it
with her studio orchestra. She and Irving Berlin were not sure
how the song would be received by the public, but both agreed
they would not take any profits from God Bless America . Any
profits would go to the Boy Scouts of America. Over the years,
the Boy Scouts have received millions of dollars in royalties
from this song.
This video starts out with Kate Smith coming into the radio studio with the orchestra and an audience. She introduces the new song for the very first time, and starts singing. After the first couple verses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown from the 1940 movie, "You're In The Army Now." At the 4:20 mark of the video you see a young actor in the movie, sitting in an office, reading a paper; it's Ronald Reagan.
This video starts out with Kate Smith coming into the radio studio with the orchestra and an audience. She introduces the new song for the very first time, and starts singing. After the first couple verses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown from the 1940 movie, "You're In The Army Now." At the 4:20 mark of the video you see a young actor in the movie, sitting in an office, reading a paper; it's Ronald Reagan.
Frank
Sinatra considered Kate Smith the best singer of her time, and
said when he and a million other guys first heard her sing
"God Bless America" on the radio, they all pretended to have
dust in their eyes as they wiped away a tear or two.
To this day, God Bless America stirs our patriotic feelings and pride in our country. Back in 1940, when Kate Smith went looking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, I doubt she realized just how successful the results would be for her fellow Americans during those years of hardship and worry, and for many generations of Americans to follow. Now that you know the story of the song, I hope you will enjoy it and treasure it even more.
To this day, God Bless America stirs our patriotic feelings and pride in our country. Back in 1940, when Kate Smith went looking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, I doubt she realized just how successful the results would be for her fellow Americans during those years of hardship and worry, and for many generations of Americans to follow. Now that you know the story of the song, I hope you will enjoy it and treasure it even more.
NOW
HERE IS HOW "GOD BLESS AMERICA" SHOULD BE
SUNG!
