Kate Smith introduces God Bless America

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 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!

 

Thanks Kerry