Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago · 4 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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MUSICAL DECADES - 1940s - War Songs

MUSICAL DECADES - 1940s - War Songs

FOR U. S.ARMY

NEAREST RECRUITING STATION


This week I'd like to take you back to World War ll. There are so many great songs from the War years; here's but a sampling of them.


Dean Paul Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, comedian, and film producer.


One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Dean was nicknamed "The King of Cool" for his seemingly effortless charisma and self-assurance. He and Jerry Lewis were partners in the immensely popular comedy team "Martin and Lewis". He was a member of the "Rat Pack" and a star in concert stage/nightclubs, recordings, motion pictures, and television.


“(There'll Be a) Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (When the Yanks Go Marching In)” is a song from 1943, with music and lyrics by Joe Bushkin and John De Vries.




The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxine Angelyn "Maxene" (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995), and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" (February 16, 1918 – January 30, 2013). Throughout their long career, the sisters sold well over 75 million records (the last official count released by MCA Records in the mid-1970s).

Their 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince, can be considered an early example of rhythm and blues or jump blues.



Dame Vera Lynn (born Vera Margaret Welch; March 20, 1917), widely known as "The Forces' Sweetheart", is a British singer, songwriter, and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during the Second World War.

During the war, Vera toured Egypt, India, and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops. The songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again", "The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square", and "There'll Always Be an England". She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the UK and the United States and recording such hits as "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" and her UK Number one single "My Son, My Son".

In 2009, Vera Lynn became the oldest living artist to make it to number 1 on the British album chart, at age 92. And on March 17, 2017, Vera Lynn 100, a compilation album, was released by Decca Records to celebrate her 100th birthday. 

"The White Cliffs of Dover" was written before the States had joined the war in order to lift the spirits of the Allies at a time when Nazi Germany had conquered much of Europe and were bombing Britain. The song was written about a year after British Commonwealth and German aircraft had been fighting over the cliffs of Dover in the Battle of Britain (late June of 1940 until the end of October). The lyrics in fact referred to the RAF (Britain's Royal Air Force) and RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) fighter pilots (in their blue uniforms) as "bluebirds" and expresses confidence that they would prevail during the dark days of the Battle of Britain. The song uses terms such as "Thumbs Up!" which was an RAF and RCAF term for permission to go, and "flying in those angry skies" where the air war was taking place.



Geraldo and his Orchestra was an British Dance Band which, when it got a long-standing contract from BBC radio during the war years, really became known.

The quickstep,“We Must All Stick Together” was written by Ralph Butler and Raymond Wallace. Geraldo and his band offered a crisp and animated rendition at a tempo fast enough to permit four choruses and one verse in the space of a 3-minute side of a 78 record.



Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – missing in action December 15, 1944) was an American big band musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was the best-selling recording artist from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known Big Bands. His recordings include "In the Mood", "Moonlight Serenade", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "A String of Pearls", "At Last", "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo", "American Patrol", "Tuxedo Junction", "Elmer's Tune", and "Little Brown Jug".

While he was traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II, Glenn's aircraft disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel.

"American Patrol" is a popular march written by Frank White (F.W.) Meacham in 1885. It incorporates both original musical themes by Meacham and melodies from American patriotic songs of the era such as "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" and "Dixie." Composed for piano, it was then arranged for wind band and published by Carl Fischer in 1891. Glenn Miller recorded the song in 1942, in a swing arrangement by Jerry Gray, where the theme "The Girl I Left Behind" can also be heard as an overlay.



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Spike JonesLindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in satirical arrangements of popular songs—the Weird Al of his day. Ballads and classical works receiving the Spike Jones treatment were punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells and outlandish vocals. From the early 1940s to the mid-1950s, Spike and his band recorded under the title Spike Jones and his City Slickers and toured the United States and Canada with their The Musical Depreciation Revue.

Spike and his band released a version of Oliver Wallace's theme song, "Der Fuehrer's Face" (also known informally as "The Nazi Song") in September 1942. The song parodied the Nazi anthem, the "Horst Wessel Song". It contains the rude sound effect of an instrument Spike called the "birdaphone", a rubber razzer (aka the Bronx Cheer) with each "Heil!" to show contempt for Hitler. (The so-called "Bronx Cheer" was a well-known expression of disgust at that time and was not deemed obscene or offensive.) The recording became very popular, peaking at #3 on the U.S. charts.


This ends Musical Decades for this week. Thanks for listening and I hope to see you here next time.

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia.)



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Dominique "Nik" Petersen is an aficionado of old music and the author of Dr. Hook and Me:  A Fan's Journal/Scrapbook. Read about it and her other books at the website:

NikDesignsGraphics.com

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Comments

Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago #6

#5
Interesting! I love the music of the '40s. Glad you liked the post. ;o)

Helena Jansen van Vuuren

6 years ago #5

Glen Miller Museum is based at the Twinwood Airfield where he was based. August every year I attend the Twinwood Festival - great vintage festival of music of the era. Many get dressed up in 1940s vintage attire - think it is one the best 1940s annual events in the UK. Thank you for the post.

Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago #4

Thanks for the share, @Donna-Luisa! ;o)

Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago #3

#2
WOW! I din't know that, Martin. Good on her!

Martin Wright

6 years ago #2

An enjoyable look at those songs of yesteryear. You forgot to mention that vera lynn realeased a new alvum to celebrate her 100th birthday

Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago #1

Thanks for the share, Julio! ;o)

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