KATE SMITH - THE FIRST LADY OF AMERICAN SONG - 1907 - 1986.
KATE’S GREAT SONG
It was November, 1938, and the 20th anniversary of the end of World War I was just around the corner.
Kate Smith was only 32 and already the undisputed Queen of Network Radio. Her variety hour on CBS and been in Thursday’s Top Ten for two years and in 1939 she would move to Friday and dominate the night’s ratings for the next four consecutive seasons. On top of this success, her weekday quarter-hour Kate Smith Speaks was off to a rousing start on CBS.
The keys to the singer’s success were a beautiful contralto voice, perfect pitch, a warm, gregarious personality, hard work to overcome her inability to read music and a devoted manager, Ted Collins. Collins discovered the singer as the unhappy butt of cruel “fat girl” jokes on the Broadway stage in 1930 and shepherded her career to stardom through Network Radio.
Smith and Collins worked ceaselessly to make The Kate Smith Hour for General Foods a success, which included the weaving of Abbott & Costello and Aldrich Family skits into their show.
When the question arose of what to do to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Armistice Day, they turned to composer Irving Berlin who provided them with a song he had written in 1918 when he was in the U.S. Army. He didn’t consider his song right for the Army revue, Yip, Yip Yaphank.
But in 1938, with World War II less than a year away in Europe, his seldom heard verse to God Bless America was especially meaningful:
While the storm clouds gather all across the sea
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer…
Kate Smith introduced God Bless America on her program of November 10, 1938, with slightly different lyrics in both verse and chorus. Irving Berlin gave her exclusive rights for three months to establish it as her signature song and for several years all royalties were donated to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Over the next two years approximately $50,000 in royalties had been accumulated for the groups and that was just the beginning.
More importantly, God Bless America became a second National Anthem for the United States during World War II. The song was inevitably part of Kate Smith’s tireless appearances in behalf of the Treasury Department which were credited wit $600 Million in war bond sales and made her an icon of American patriotism.
Thanks to Steve Raymer and Danny Henry at the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting in Minneapolis, we're proud to present the song from its original CBS broadcast on November 10, 1938, and the second version that became more familiar from 1940.
Either way, God Bless America has as much meaning today as it did when it was introduced eight decades ago.
The impact of the song on America is everlasting. As President Ronald Reagan said in presenting the Medal of Freedom to her in 1982: "The voice of Kate Smith is known and loved by millions of Americans, young and old. In peace and war it has been an inspiration. Those simple but deeply moving words, "God bless America," have taken on added meaning for all of us because of the way Kate Smith sang them. "
A Personal Note: Like millions of others, I grew up listening to Kate Smith on radio and seeing her on television. I was surprised when I walked into the lobby of KLAC/Los Angeles after lunch one afternoon in 1968 to find her standing there, in a full-length mink coat, talking with our station’s General Manager, Jack Thayer. He motioned to me and said, “Kate, this is Jim Ramsburg.”
“Why, hello, Jim!” she said warmly. “I’m happy to meet you, Miss Smith,” I responded.
She stopped me short with a shrug, “Please, call me Kate, Jim. How long have you been here at KLAC?. Are you from Los Angeles originally?”
As soon as I replied, she was ready with another barrage of questions. “I see from your ring that you’re married, Jim. Does your wife like California? Do you have any children? Tell me about them…” This continued for several minutes until her driver appeared and signaled to her waiting car. I was left in the lobby knowing that I had met one of the most gracious individuals in show business.
When I got home for dinner that night, Patty asked me if anything of interest happened at the station that day. I nodded and said, “Yup. I got interviewed by Kate Smith!”
Copyright © 2016 Jim Ramsburg, Estero FL Email: tojimramsburg@gmail.com
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