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 YouTube video shows 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 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.
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!
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