FrumCA

Thought you all might enjoy this tidbit of history. Good performance and timely given our current state of events.

A Bit of "Americana "

Frank Sinatra considered Kate
Smith the best singer of her
time, and said that 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.

Here are the facts... The link at
the bottom will take you to a
video showing the very first
public singing of "GOD BLESS
AMERICA ". But before you
watch it, you should also know
the story behind the first public
showing 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.

Kate was also large; plus size, as
we now say, and the popular
phrase still used today is in
deference to her, "It 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 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 (who
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 her 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 fromGod 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.

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
whether 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'll enjoy it
and treasure it even more.

Many people don't know
there's a lead in to the song
since it usually starts with "God
Bless America ."

So here's the entire song as
originally sung... ENJOY!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/TnQDW-NMaRs?rel=0

Robert Graybeal Loc: Myrtle Beach

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Still brings a little dust to my eyes, great voice and great
song, never heard it sang better, thanks.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

Thank you.

Opus Loc: South East Michigan

I am one of those people who always wanted to see God Bless America become the national anthem. Great stirring song. If it doesn't touch you, you either don't get what this country is about or your dead! Thanks for the link I enjoyed this.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I wondered about "It ain't over till the fat lady sings" referring to Kate Smith, because I thought the original phrase was "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings." So I Googled it, and it turns out to be of much later origin than Kate Smith's time. I found this on Wikipedia:

The first recorded use appeared in the Dallas Morning News on 10 March 1976, by journalist Ralph Carpenter:

Despite his obvious allegiance to the Red Raiders, Texas Tech sports information director Ralph Carpenter was the picture of professional objectivity when the Aggies rallied for a 72–72 tie late in the SWC tournament finals. "Hey, Ralph," said Bill Morgan, "this... is going to be a tight one after all." "Right", said Ralph, "the opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings."

DAVE FISHING Loc: Phoenix,Arizona

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

02Nomad Loc: Catonsville, MD

Thanks so much for posting!

jiminee1 Loc: S.E.MA

I cant help but be disturbed by the state of the country now and compared to the '40's seemed like a more united country then. What happened..???

richosob Loc: Lambertville, MI

Great song sung by a great American. We miss you Kate.

Rich

richosob Loc: Lambertville, MI

Progressive liberals.

Rich

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

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ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

Thank you. What an interesting story and such a moving song!

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

cThe country became more united after Dec 7, 1941. Up until then, not so much. Lasted for a few years then became less and less united until Sept 11, 2001. But now it's back to "what's in it for me". Usually takes some national tragedy to bring people together.

ole sarg Loc: south florida

Interesting story but of course it is a bunch of hog wash!

You folks accept anything that agrees with your predisposed beliefs.

http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=59130