Ronald E. Bornstein
E Pluribus Music: Popular Songs about the USA
Ronald E. Bornstein | E Pluribus Music: Popular Songs about the USA | 06.30.24
- Hello, Ron Bornstein again. Today we have a presentation on songs about the United States, in the anticipation of the 4th of July, which is of course this week, along with the British elections. And it’s going to be a very eventful week in any event. But I’m wearing a baseball cap for my old baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, and we’ll be hearing about San Francisco a little later in this presentation. I’m going to take off my baseball cap and take off my sunglasses, and put on my regular glasses, so you can see me and I can see you, or at least see the slides. So the the first slide we have, next slide please, thank you, is the Great Seal of the United States, which has the motto, E Pluribus Unum, the motto of the United States, or one of the mottoes of the United States. And I’ve adapted it to the title of this presentation, “E Pluribus Music”, Out of Many One, and in our case, Out of Many Music.
And there’s a lot of symbolism here, 13 stars, 13 stripes, 13 arrows, 13 olive branches and olives in honour of the 13 original states of the United States. If you had traidekaphobe, I apologise, but that’s the number, 13. Next please. Okay, don’t play it yet. When I first came to London in my university years, I went to the theatre, and after the play there was a tune that was played, that was one that I certainly recognised from my years growing up in the United States. And this is the tune, it’s well-known, not only to Americans, but to Brits and other people around the world. But the words are a little different in the United Kingdom than they are in the United States. So for you Americans who aren’t familiar with this version, we’re going to play it for you now. Play it please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ God save our gracious king ♪ ♪ Long live our noble king ♪ ♪ God save our king ♪ ♪ Send him victorious, happy and glorious ♪ ♪ Long to reign over us ♪ ♪ God save the king ♪ ♪ Send him victorious, happy and glorious ♪ ♪ Long to reign over us ♪ ♪ God save the king ♪
- Okay, just hold it there please. Thank you. Well, that’s obviously “God Save the King”, which is very different from the next song we’re going to play, which is the American lyrics, with the same tune. The tune dates back many centuries, and the American lyrics were created in 1821 after the War of 1812, also known as the British-American War. Could you play the next slide, please? “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”, and yes, play it please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ My country, 'tis of thee ♪ ♪ Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing ♪ ♪ Land where my fathers died ♪ ♪ Land of the pilgrims’ pride ♪ ♪ From every mountainside, let freedom ring ♪
- Okay, hold it there, please. Well, I thought it was very nice of the British people to play our patriotic song after the theatre, and it was the 4th of July week, just as it is now. And I thought, “Well, it’s very thoughtful,” but obviously I learned that it had a very different meaning in the United Kingdom than it has in the United States, and it’s also very familiar to many of the members of the Commonwealth nations, and others around the world, as the British national anthem. Okay, well, going on from here, we’re going to go to another use of the phrase, “Of thee I sing,” and could we have the next slide, please. “Of Thee I Sing” was a musical written in 1931, I believe, by Gershwins. You see Ira to the left standing, and George to the right. And the gentlemen below them, seated below them, are George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, two absolutely brilliant writers.
Kaufman wrote, well he started as “New York Times” drama critic, and then became the editor, and he was a great wit. When someone asked him, when a press agent asked him how he could get the leading lady in a show he was working for into the “New York Times”, he said, “Shoot her.” And Morrie Ryskind to the right was also a brilliant wit. And Kaufman and Ryskind wrote many of the Marx brothers scripts that are so witty, so comedic, and so much attributed to the Marx Brothers. Of course they performed them, but most of the ideas for them, and virtually all the words came from those two gentlemen. Well, these four people got together and wrote a satiric musical, somewhat like a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, about the American elections, and the Supreme Court, Congress, the presidency, the vice presidency. And it’s just a wonderful and not very often heard play.
And there was a sequel to it, “Let Them Eat Cake”, about the very dark consequences of some of the aspects of democracy covered in “Of Thee I Sing.” And for many years it was not very well-known, but next slide, please. Michael Tilson Thomas, who was a very popular conductor, he conducted in New York and Boston, in London, and in San Francisco for the last decades of his career. He was a great force for reviving “Of Thee I Sing” and “Let Them Eat Cake”, and he conducted and recorded it, both of them. And he also was a great proponent of Mahler, among others, and unfortunately has glioblastoma brain cancer at the moment, I think he’s in his late 70s, and it’s extremely sad that such a vibrant man would be brought to this.
He conducted his last Mahler symphony in San Francisco in January, and we all hope he’s doing as well as possible, given these conditions. And he is also the grandson of the great Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, the wonderful Yiddish actors who were so appreciated in New York in the beginning of the 20th century. And he’s done several documentaries on them, and he’s also composed a number of important works, such as “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Showa/Shoah.” So next, please. This is the cover to the recording by Michael Tilson Thomas with great, great singers and great orchestrations. And I was lucky enough to attend a presentation of this in San Francisco 25 years or so ago, and it was a wonderful experience. Well, there are some popular songs that came out of “Of Thee I Sing”, and one is about the platform for the President of the United States, trying to win over the country because he’s about to get married. And well, George Gershwin can introduce this better than I can. Could you play the next slide, please?
[Clip plays]
[George] In “Of Thee I Sing”, John P Wintergreen ran for the presidency on a love platform. Very soon reports came in from everywhere that love is sweeping the country, which of course we put into a song, here it is.
Next slide, please. That’s the tune, and now we’ll hear the lyrics as recorded in the 1952 revival, play it please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ Why are people gay all the night and day ♪ ♪ Feeling as they never felt before ♪ ♪ What is the thing that makes them sing ♪ ♪ Rich man, poor man, thief ♪ ♪ Doctor, lawyer, chief ♪ ♪ Feel a feeling that they can’t ignore ♪ ♪ It plays a part in every heart ♪ ♪ And every heart is shouting, encore ♪ ♪ Love is sweeping the country ♪ ♪ Waves are hugging the shore ♪ ♪ All the sexes from Maine to Texas ♪ ♪ Have never known such love before ♪ ♪ See them billing and cooing like the birdies above ♪ ♪ Each girl and boy alike sharing joy alike ♪ ♪ Feels that passion’ll, soon be national ♪ ♪ Love is sweeping the country ♪ ♪ There never was so much love ♪ ♪ Spring is in the air ♪ ♪ Each mortal loves his neighbour ♪ ♪ Who’s that loving pair, that’s Capital and Labour ♪ ♪ Boston upper zones are changing older habits ♪ ♪ And I hear the Cohns are taking up the Cabots ♪ ♪ Florida and California get together ♪ ♪ In a festive manner of oranges and weather ♪ ♪ Both the North and South give up their hanky-panky ♪ ♪ As the Dixie mouth no longer damns the Yankee ♪ ♪ Cities are about, the quarrels that were hapless ♪ ♪ Look who’s making love, St. Paul and Minneapolis ♪
[Clip ends]
- Okay thank you, next slide please. Don’t play it yet. When I asked some British friends about songs that they might enjoy about various United States, the various states in the United States, they said, “Well, there’s that song that I heard growing up with all the different states in it.” And I said, well could that be “Delaware, what did Delaware,” and they said, “Yes, that’s it.” Well, it’s not a song I like very much, but to refresh the recollection of some of the listeners who are in the United Kingdom, I thought I’d just play the first clip. And it’s about Delaware, which is the second-largest state in the United States. So Perry Como, as you may recall, very popular TV entertainer and and singer in the ‘50s and '60s is singing this, and it’s to a march, which I think is kind of strange, but play it please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ Oh what did Del-a-ware boy, what did Delaware ♪ ♪ What did Del-a-ware boy, what did Delaware ♪ ♪ She wore a brand New Jersey ♪ ♪ She wore a brand New Jersey ♪ ♪ She wore a brand New Jersey ♪ ♪ That’s what she did wear ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four ♪
- Well that was nice and short. It’s very good if you want to hear a song about many states, but there’s a better song, or at least one I like a lot more that’s not well-known, but it’s it’s got a lot of clever lyrics and some, how should I put it? So I would say some puns, some strange rhymes, and it’s very melodic. And I’ll tell you why in a minute, but I want to go to the next slide and introduce you to a wonderful singer who’s going to sing it for you. Blossom Dearie, this would be her centenary year. She was born in 1924, a wonderful musician. Miles Davis said, “She’s the only white woman who has soul.” And she worked with and was greatly appreciated by many jazz musicians. She both played the piano and sang, and she has this kind of ethereal voice, which is unique. She made lots of albums.
She lived in, she grew up in upstate New York, went to New York City, then a few years later went to Paris. She translated some American songs into French, and was just brilliant with those. She came back to New York, and she was in London for a number of years, and was much beloved, and I think you’ll hear why right now. See, is there anything else I should say about her? No. So I guess the only thing I can say about the song, it’s about Rhode Island, which is the smallest state in the Union. Delaware is the second-smallest state, and as you may know, it’s where the current president maintains his official, well, his personal residence, and he was in the Senate for many years representing the state of Delaware. Yes okay, well let’s just listen to it, and grimace as we hear some of the rhymes. Play it please. Thank you.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ Copper comes from Arizona ♪ ♪ Peaches come from Georgia, and lobsters come from Maine ♪ ♪ The wheat fields are the sweet fields of Nebraska ♪ ♪ And Kansas gets bonanzas from the grain ♪ ♪ Old whiskey comes from old Kentucky ♪ ♪ Ain’t the country lucky New Jersey gives us glue ♪ ♪ And you, you come from Rhode Island ♪ ♪ And little old Rhode Island is famous for you ♪ ♪ Cotton comes from Louisiana ♪ ♪ Gophers from Montana, and spuds from Idaho ♪ ♪ They plough land in the cow land of Missour-a ♪ ♪ Where most beef meant for roast beef seems to grow ♪ ♪ Grand Canyons come from Colorad-a ♪ ♪ Gold comes from Nevada, divorces also do ♪ ♪ And you, you come from Rhode Island ♪ ♪ Little old Rhode Island is famous for you ♪ ♪ Pencils come from Pennsylvania ♪ ♪ Vests from Vest Virginia and tents from Tent-essee ♪ ♪ They know mink where they grow mink in Wyo-mink ♪ ♪ A camp chair in New Hamp-chair, that’s from me ♪ ♪ And minnows come from Minnesota ♪ ♪ Coats come from Dakota ♪ ♪ But why should you be blue ♪ ♪ For you, you come from Rhode Island ♪ ♪ Don’t let them ride Rhode Island ♪ ♪ It’s famous for you ♪
- Ah, okay. Well you’ve learned something about the states of the United States, and we can go on. Oh, and that chicken is a Rhode Island Red, for your information, very popular chicken grown in Rhode Island. Next slide, please. Okay, this is an album for the show that that came from, “Inside USA”, I’d never heard of it before. Presented, produced by Arthur Schwartz, who was the composer, and the lyrics, as you can see in the bottom, were by Howard Dietz. Diets and Schwartz were a wonderful songwriting combination. Not only were their names easy to pronounce, Dietz and Schwartz, one syllable apiece, they also wrote some songs which you’re probably familiar with, “Dancing in the Dark”, “That’s Entertainment”, “By Myself”, many of these are in the film “Bandwagon” with Fred Astaire. And “I see Your Face before Me”, which is just an exquisite song.
Howard Dietz, well I’ll tell you about Howard Dietz when we get to their pictures. Next slide, please. Okay, that is Jack Haley who played the Tin Man, whose picture you saw on the album cover, and just thought, I couldn’t resist putting up that image. Such a wonderful image of him, Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. Next please. Okay, Howard Dietz on the left, Arthur Schwartz on the right. Dietz was the lyricist, Schwartz was the composer. They worked with other people as well, but they’re best known for working together. And Dietz had another career at MGM.
He was the head of publicity, and is credited with creating the thought of Leo the Lion, and the Latin motto, Ars Gratia Artis, yeah, Art for Art’s Sake. And yeah, they both came from New York, of course. Well, and they were both brilliant people. Jonathan Schwartz, the son of Arthur Schwartz, became a great radio personality, perpetuating the Great American Songbook, and interviewing all sorts of wonderful performers and other creative people. And also he sang a bit, and recorded his father’s songs. Very, very, very important people. Probably not household names today, when it comes to American composers. Next please, okay. The next song is “Swanee”, introduced by Al Jolson for recording. It’s a 1917 song by George Gershwin and Irving Caesar, who I’ll tell you about in a minute. Could we play it, please?
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ I’ve been away from you a long time ♪ ♪ I never thought I’d miss you so ♪ ♪ Somehow I feel your love was real ♪ ♪ Near you I want to be ♪ ♪ The birds are singing, it is song time ♪ ♪ The banjo’s strumming soft and low ♪ ♪ I know that you yearn for me too ♪ ♪ Swanee, you’re calling me ♪ ♪ Swanee, how I love you, how I love you ♪ ♪ My dear old Swanee ♪ ♪ I give the world to be ♪ ♪ Among the folks in D-I-X-I-E ♪ ♪ Even though my mammy’s waiting for me, praying for me ♪ ♪ Down by the Swanee ♪ ♪ The folks up North will see me no more ♪ ♪ When I go to that Swanee shore ♪ ♪ Swanee, Swanee, I am coming back to Swanee ♪ ♪ Mammy, Mammy, I love the old folks at home ♪
- Thank you, next slide please. Well, it was nice to see Al Jolson as a handsome young man. We know a lot about him from other Lockdown lectures, and it’s also nice to see him in white face, shall we say, rather than blackface, which he performed that a number of times. This was of course, 1920 recording, before talkies. George Gershwin on the left needs no further discussion. There’s so much to say about him. I don’t want to spend any more time on him. The fellow on the right is Irving Caesar, born is Isador Kaiser, and from a Romanian Jewish family. Irving Caesar lived a very, very old age, several times longer than George Gershwin, who tragically died in his 30s. But, and he also wrote a tremendous number of lyrics for songs, including, “I Want to Be Happy” and “Tea For Two” with Vincent Youmans for “No, No, Nanette”, a wonderful musical, and he also wrote that timeless song for Shirley Temple “Animal Crackers in My Soup.”
Okay, well, we started our voyage south with “Swanee”, and now we’re going to go to the Gulf Coast to New Orleans with a very, oh, which I think is a very interesting song, “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans”, and it was written in 1947, just after World War II, obviously. “Swanee” was written just after World War I. And this is very interesting in many ways. Could you play, could you show the next slide? Okay, this is the publicity poster for it, and it’s mainly focused on jazz, and jazz of the South, and New Orleans. And as you can see, Louis Armstrong there with a cornet, not a trumpet, a cornet, which was what was used primarily in Dixieland and Southern music, has a somewhat different sound than a trumpet, a little more soul. And you can see Woody Herman next to him, and you can see Billie Holiday, and a number of other great jazz musicians as well.
The next clip has Louis Armstrong not singing, but playing the cornet, Billie Holiday of course singing, and I think singing in very good form. And it’s integrated, after the war, they show Black sailors smoking a cigar, and they also have a guitarist smoking the cigar while he plays, which is just, kind of an incredible concept to me. So play the next clip, please.
[Clip plays]
You having fun tonight?
What do you think I’m here for? Where is we, boys?
New Orleans.
New Orleans.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans ♪ ♪ And miss it each night and day ♪ ♪ I know I’m not wrong, the feeling’s getting stronger ♪ ♪ The longer I stay away ♪ ♪ Miss the moss-covered vines, the tall sugar pines ♪ ♪ Where mockingbirds used to sing ♪ ♪ And I’d like to see the lazy Mississippi ♪ ♪ A-hurrying to spring ♪ ♪ The Mardi Gras memories of creole tunes that fill the air ♪ ♪ I dream of Oleanders in June ♪ ♪ And soon I’m wishing that I was there ♪ ♪ Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans ♪ ♪ When that’s where you left your heart ♪ ♪ And there’s something more, I miss the one I care for ♪ ♪ More than I miss New Orleans ♪
Thank you, Billie.
Good evening.
Well, this is really a surprise.
[Clip ends]
- Okay, next slide please. These are the people who wrote the song, obviously white. They’re from, one was from New England, the other was from New York. The fellow on the left is Edgar DeLange, who wrote the lyrics, and the fellow on the right is Louis Alter, both very talented people, and wrote a number of songs, and were involved in projects for songs you probably know. But I’m going to go on to the next slide, please. Dakota Staton, an amazing talent who was born a little too late for the type of song she sang. She was greatly appreciated by the jazz world. I could name numerous well-known jazz musicians who played with her. And she also has a great name, Dakota. I thought that would be very good for this broadcast. And although she was born in Pittsburgh, and she also is singing a song about a state, which we’re going to play right now. Next slide please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ Way beyond the hills of Idaho ♪ ♪ Where yonder canyons greet the sun ♪ ♪ As it smiles above the trees in Idaho ♪ ♪ To say another night is done ♪ ♪ Warm summer wind starts the waving grain ♪ ♪ Calling me back to my home again ♪ ♪ To dream sweet memories of long ago ♪ ♪ Beyond the hills of Idaho ♪
- Okay, next slide please. Okay, “Sun Valley Serenade” was a movie that was made about Sun Valley. As you can see, Glenn Miller played a role in it. And it was really to publicise Sun Valley, which had opened a few years earlier. It was developed as a ski resort by the Union Pacific Railroad, which had a railroad that went by it. And Averell Harriman was the head of the company that developed it. His family developed the Union Pacific Railroad, among many other ventures. And I’m going to play a little bit of Glenn Miller, a song about another city in the South, and it may be familiar to you, some great clips of Glenn Miller. He was only in two films, and then this opened in 1941 before the war, just before Americans got involved in the war.
Harriman was in London at the time working on the Lend Lease programme with Churchill and the British government. You know, United States was neutral, so it couldn’t sell arms to the United Kingdom. It could only lease them. Next slide please. The fellow on the left is Mack Gordon, born Morris Gittler, in Belarus. And he looks like, well, he doesn’t look like a sensitive lyric writer, but he was. He wrote not only the lyrics to “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, which is the song we’re going to play, but also had numerous Oscar nominations. He had nine Oscar nominations in 11 years, and he had Oscar nominations in five consecutive years. And some of the great songs he wrote the lyrics for were, “You’ll Never Know”, “The More I See You”, “At Last”, and “Goodnight My Love”, “Mam'Selle”, “You Make Me Feel So Young.”
He was just a great writer. His songs appear in hundreds of shows, or at least, over a hundred shows, I should say. And the fellow to the right is Harry Warren, I think the ninth or 10th born of 11 Italian families, born to a cobbler, book, a boot maker, not a book maker, a boot maker, and they changed their name to Warren, and he was one of the great, great songwriters as well. So go on to the next slide, please. This is the clip, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, followed by the Nicholas Brothers. And I’m going to try to play the whole thing, and bear with me, because I think it’s worthwhile. Rare footage of of Glenn Miller and the Nicholas Brothers at their prime, play it please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ Pardon me boys, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo ♪ ♪ Yes, yes, track 29 ♪ ♪ Boy, you can gimme a shine ♪ ♪ Can you afford to board Chattanooga Choo Choo ♪ ♪ I got my fare, and just a trifle to spare ♪ ♪ You leave the Pennsylvania station ♪ ♪ 'About a quarter to four ♪ ♪ Read a magazine and then you’re in Baltimore ♪ ♪ Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer ♪ ♪ Than to have your ham and eggs in Carolina ♪ ♪ When you hear the whistle blowing eight to the bar ♪ ♪ Then you know that Tennessee is not very far ♪ ♪ Shovel all the coal in, got to keep it rolling ♪ ♪ Woo woo, Chattanooga, there you are ♪ ♪ There’s going to be a certain party at the station ♪ ♪ Satin and lace, I used to call Funny Face ♪ ♪ She’s going to cry until I tell her that I’ll never roam ♪ ♪ So Chattanooga Choo Choo, won’t you choo choo me home ♪ ♪ Chattanooga, Chattanooga ♪ ♪ All aboard, Chattanooga, Chattanooga ♪ ♪ Get aboard, Chattanooga, Chattanooga ♪ ♪ Chattanooga Choo Choo, won’t you choo choo me home ♪ ♪ Chattanooga Choo Choo ♪ ♪ Pardon me boys, yes yes ♪ ♪ Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo ♪ ♪ That’s the Chattanooga Choo Choo ♪ ♪ On track 29, 29, uh-uh ♪ ♪ That’s on the Tennessee line ♪ ♪ She said the Tennessee line ♪ ♪ That she means, that she can afford ♪ ♪ I can afford to board the Chattanooga Choo Choo ♪ ♪ What have you got in there ♪ ♪ I’ve got my fare, you say you have ♪ ♪ Uh-huh, but not a nickel to spare ♪ ♪ Well, I do declare ♪ ♪ You leave the Pennsylvania station ♪ ♪ 'About a quarter to four, quarter to four ♪ ♪ Read a magazine, and then you’re in Baltimore ♪ ♪ Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer ♪ ♪ Than to have your ham and eggs in Carolina ♪ ♪ When you hear the whistle blowing eight to the bar ♪ ♪ Then you know that Tennessee is not very far ♪ ♪ Shovel all the coal in, got to keep it rolling ♪ ♪ Whoa Chattanooga, there you are ♪ ♪ Chattanooga Choo Choo, there you are ♪
- Okay, cut it there please. Thank you. If you like this song, please watch it online on YouTube from start to finish, it’s quite worthwhile. It was the number one song in 1941, first record to to be awarded a gold record. So, just a very important song throughout the war as well, and as Glenn Miller was, of course. Next slide please, and that’s Glenn Miller. And Averell Harriman is a handsome young man, and then spanning the century, his important work during the war, and in the State Department, Governor of New York, and obviously one of the wise men of the 20th century. And Glenn Miller in his uniform, went missing during the war. And yeah, his career was cut short. Next slide, please. Okay, Dinah Shore, born Frances Rose Shore in a small town in Tennessee, was one of the leading TV celebrities after having a great big band career, and starting at the birth of television with experimental broadcasts. And this is a tune, which is probably known to many Americans of my generation, but they haven’t heard it for years. So play it, please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ See the USA in your Chevrolet ♪ ♪ America is asking you to call ♪ ♪ Drive your Chevrolet through the USA ♪ ♪ America’s the greatest land of all ♪ ♪ On a highway, or a road along the levee ♪ ♪ Performance is sweeter, nothing can beat her ♪ ♪ Life is completer in a Chevy ♪ ♪ So make a date today to see the USA ♪ ♪ And see it in your Chevrolet ♪ ♪ Travelling east, travelling west ♪ ♪ Wherever you go, Chevy service is best ♪ ♪ Southward or north, near place or far ♪ ♪ There’s a Chevrolet dealer for your Chevrolet car ♪ ♪ See the USA in your Chevrolet ♪ ♪ The Rockies way out west is calling you ♪ ♪ Drive your Chevrolet through the USA ♪ ♪ With fields of gold and wheat grass in review ♪ ♪ Whether travelling light or with a load that’s heavy ♪ ♪ Performance is sweeter, nothing can beat her ♪ ♪ Life is completer in a Chevy ♪ ♪ So make a date today to see the USA ♪ ♪ And see it in your Chevrolet ♪
- Okay, thank you. Dinah Shore was Jewish, her father had a store, and he was a retailer who had a lot of trouble. Her mother died when she was 16. Dinah went on to Vanderbilt University, and was a great success. Next, please. Okay, this is Bobby Troup, who wrote the next song, “Route 66”, made famous by Nat King Cole and his trio. And I’ll say a few words about Nat King Cole. He was an all-star pianist, was in the Jazz at the Philharmonic group, put together by Norman Grant towards the end of the war, or at the end of the war, and was a pianist. And then he started singing, and the rest of course is history. I’m just going to play a little bit of “Route 66.” It’s probably well known to many of you. It’s got many American cities and towns in it. But it’s about the route from St. Louis to Los Angeles. Play it, please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ If you ever plan to motor west ♪ ♪ Travel my way, take the highway, that’s the best ♪ ♪ Get your kicks on Route 66 ♪ ♪ It winds from Chicago to LA ♪ ♪ More than 2000 miles all the way ♪ ♪ Get your kicks on Route 66 ♪ ♪ Now you go through St. Louis, Joplin, Missouri ♪ ♪ And Oklahoma City looks might pretty ♪ ♪ You’ll see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico ♪ ♪ Flagstaff Arizona, don’t forget Winona ♪ ♪ Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino ♪ ♪ Won’t you get hip to this timely tip ♪ ♪ When you make that California trip ♪ ♪ Get your kicks on Route 66 ♪
- Okay, cut it please, thank you. Well, I was obviously mistaken. It goes through St. Louis, but starts in Chicago. Nat King Cole, like Dinah Shore, had very popular early evening programmes where they sang and had many musical greats as their guests. And, but Nat King Cole had a problem, and it was his colour, and his show was cancelled because of a lack of sponsorship. And he said that the sponsors were afraid of the dark. It’s really, really tragic. And he died, he was a heavy smoker and he died, I think about the age of 45. So a wonderful musician and well-known to people around the world, not just Americans. Next slide, please. Okay, this is not Route 66. This is the California Trail. And in about the 1840s as I recall, and you see for the railroad, goes through Idaho and goes to Nevada, you see Mormon Station, Mormons are still very, they’re you know, very important in Nevada, and Sutter’s Fort, and this is just before the Gold Rush. Next slide, please.
Okay, speaking of going west to California, these are the population tables for California from 1840 to 2020. And the first ancestor of mine to come to the United States came from Alsace in the 1850s. As you know, there were a number of revolutions in Europe in 1848, and it was not the best place to be for certain people. And the population was 120,000. Then when this Al Jolson song, “California Here I Come” was published in the 1920s, the population grew to about three and a half million. And now it’s over 10 times that, so it’s really amazing. And I guess a lot of people followed Jolson west, and this is a song associated with that. Play the next slide, please.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ When the wintry winds start blowing ♪ ♪ And the snow is starting in a fall ♪ ♪ Then my eyes turn westward knowing ♪ ♪ That’s the place that I love best of all ♪ ♪ California I’ve been blue since I’ve been away from you ♪ ♪ I can’t wait till I get going ♪ ♪ Even now, I’m starting in a call ♪ ♪ California here I come ♪ ♪ Right back where I started from ♪ ♪ Where bowers of flowers bloom in the spring ♪ ♪ Each morning at dawning birdies sing and everything ♪ ♪ A sun-kissed miss said, don’t be late ♪ ♪ That’s why I can hardly wait ♪ ♪ Open up that Golden Gate ♪ ♪ California here I come ♪
- Okay, cut it there please. “California Here I Come” is played traditionally by the University of California Berkeley Band, and before the big game with Stanford they used to, when I lived there, march through restaurants, and around the downtown district, and blare out. There’d be, you know, there’d be the scores of musicians coming by, playing that song. Very, very much beloved song in California. The next song is also related to California, and a city where I lived for many years, and my family and relatives have lived, San Francisco. There’s a movie made 30 years after the earthquake of 1906, that would be 1936, with Clark Gable, Jeanette McDonald, and Spencer Tracy.
And it’s about the time leading up to the earthquake of 1906. And I won’t go into the whole story, but as you might imagine, there’s a love theme here between Clark Gable and Jeanette McDonald, who puts on an incredible performance of the song “San Francisco.” And why don’t we go right to it, thank you. Next slide, please. That’s the earthquake from the collection of Pillsbury Picture Company, and Pillsbury just happens to be the law firm I was a partner at for many years, started in San Francisco by Evan Pillsbury, and very active in the litigation, and charitable work, I should also say, after the devastating earthquake and fire. Next slide, please. Lyrics by Gus Khan. A lot to say about him, but I’ll move on for now. We’ll probably meet him in another programme. “San Francisco.”
Ladies and gentlemen, the last entry of the evening was supposed to have been from Mr. Blackie Norton’s Paradise, but as it is now 4:30, and the performers have failed to arrive, I we’ll close the show without them.
Mr. Duane, I’m representing the Paradise for Mr. Norton.
No, I forbid you to go up there.
Oh Duane?
Yeah.
You know where Blackie Norton lives?
Sure.
Well, go get him.
You bet.
[Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, representing the Paradise Cafe, Ms. Mary Blake.
Play “San Francisco.” ♪ It only takes a tiny corner of ♪ ♪ This great big world to make the place we love ♪ ♪ My home upon the hill ♪ ♪ I find I love you still ♪ ♪ I’ve been away, but now I’m back to tell you ♪ ♪ San Francisco, open your Golden Gate ♪ ♪ You’ll let no stranger wait ♪ ♪ Who’s a-knocking, who’s a-knocking outside your door ♪ ♪ San Francisco, here comes your wandering one ♪ ♪ And I’m saying, and I’m saying ♪ ♪ That I’m going to wander no more ♪ ♪ Other places, other places ♪ ♪ Only make me love you best ♪ ♪ Tell me, tell me ♪ ♪ You’re the heart of the Golden West, the Golden West ♪ ♪ San Francisco, welcome me home again ♪ ♪ I’m coming home to go roaming no more ♪ And everybody join in the chorus with me. ♪ A-Knocking outside your door ♪ ♪ San Francisco, here is your wandering one ♪ Come on everybody, sing everybody. ♪ Other places, other places ♪ ♪ Only make me be love you best ♪ ♪ Help me, help me, you’re the heart of the Golden West ♪ ♪ San Francisco, welcome me home again ♪ ♪ I’m coming home to go roaming no more ♪ ♪ San Francisco, open your Golden Gate ♪
If we can cut it there. ♪ Ah ♪
Thank you, I’d just like to say another word about this. There was another earthquake in San Francisco in 1989, just before the opening of the third game of the World Series at the San Francisco Giants Baseball Club Stadium, Candlestick Park at the time. And my daughters and I were at the upper deck and it was, sorry, it was just an amazing experience that I hope none of you ever have to go through. Okay, let’s go from San Francisco to Hawaii. Next slide, please. Okay “Honolulu”, I’m just going to play a little part of this, a unique film in that it has Eleanor Powell, the great tap dancer starring in it, and Gracie Allen doing a duet with her. And like Jeanette McDonald, very liberated women. So play the next clip, please. Mary Warren.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ Fleas, my dog has fleas ♪ ♪ My dog has fleas, fleas ♪
Got it. ♪ I’m on my merry way, I’m on a holiday. ♪ ♪ I mean, I’m on my way to Honolulu ♪ ♪ The days just drift along ♪ ♪ The nights are filled with song ♪ ♪ I hope that I’m not wrong in Honolulu ♪ ♪ I bought a ukulele ♪ ♪ I practise on the daily ♪ ♪ Sounds wiki-wacky-waily ♪ ♪ My hula-hula song ♪ ♪ I know it’s going to be an awful blow to me ♪ ♪ Unless I find romance in Honolulu ♪ ♪ I know just how it looks ♪ ♪ From the pretty picture books ♪ ♪ So please don’t disappoint me, Honolulu ♪ ♪ My Honolulu, by the Coral Sea ♪
Aw, come on Ms. Marsh, get on your feet and do that, will you?
End that clip please. Thank you. Well, Gracie and Eleanor go into a dance routine, which is wonderful. You can watch it yourself on YouTube if you’re so inclined. Film was made in 1939, 2 years before Honolulu was attacked at Pearl Harbour, and the United States entered World War II. Next slide, please. Burns and Allen in their prime. Lovely couple, very different from their pictures in old age. Next please. And that is the flag of Honolulu, which may be a surprise to you. The only flag with the British flag incorporated into it, and that’s because the monarch of Honolulu appreciated everything that the British government had done, particularly its monarch, and the stripes, red, white and blue stripes, are for each of the major islands of Hawaii. The state flag of Hawaii, I should have said. Okay, next, please. Okay, “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, but not by, well written by George M Cohan and performed by him in 1903, I believe, and reenacted by James Cagney. But this is a slightly different version that we’re going to end this programme with. Play the next slide, please.
[Maurice] Of course I’m a Frenchman, but I love New York. That’s why I can see, and with all my heart.
♪ Music plays ♪
♪ I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy ♪ ♪ A Yankee Doodle Parisian ♪ ♪ A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam ♪ ♪ Born on the ♪ ♪ I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart ♪ ♪ Her name is Sophie Tucker ♪ ♪ Yankee Doodle went to London ♪ ♪ Just to ride a pony ♪ ♪ I am a Yankee Doodle boy ♪ ♪ I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart ♪ ♪ She’s like Marilyn Monroe ♪ ♪ Yankee Doodle gets to London ♪ ♪ Just to ride a pony ♪ ♪ I am a Yankee Doodle boy from Paris ♪ ♪ Yes, I am a Yankee Doodle boy ♪
- Merci beaucoup Maurice, and have a great Bastille day if you’re going to be in France, or a Francophile. Next slide, please. This is a clip that I’m not going to play, but it is available in the notice you have of this programme. I didn’t think I’d be able to play it, but it’s just so wonderful, I wanted you all to see it. And it’s Leonard Bernstein leading Louis Armstrong and a great musical ensemble in the “St. Louis Blues”, written by WC Handy, and WC Handy is in the audience, and there are shots of him in his old age, failing eyesight, just really appreciating it. It was filmed in I think 1956 at Lewison Stadium, the old Lewison Stadium, which was funded by the Lewison family, Jewish family in the construction field, and was the home of many, many historic, great concerts.
George Gershwin played there, and after Gershwin died, and they did the biopic of him, “Rhapsody in Blue”, and the closing number, “Rhapsody in Blue”, played by Oscar Levant and conducted by Paul Whiteman, who introduced it, as you may recall. It was filmed there. Next slide, please. So it’s in the notice you got so, you can look at, and that’s the great record album. “Louis Armstrong plays WC Handy”, a fantastic, fantastic album. I wore the grooves off of it over the years. I highly recommend it if you like this kind of music. Next please. And these are, in closing, well almost closing, two flag pictures taken during World War II. The one on the left is by Robert Kappa, a Jewish photographer born in Hungary, and a war photographer, really well-known for his photographs of the landings on D-Day, and the preparations for them. And on the right as Joe Rosenthal’s, raising the flag at Iwo Jima in the Pacific.
The one on the left is a Frenchman who hid that flag during World War II, during four years, and was only bringing it out on that day. It was filmed in, it was taken in August, 1944, obviously a little bit after D-Day, by Kappa, showing a veteran of the First War, in his appreciation of the United States. Okay, last slide is Chicago on the 4th of July, Lake Michigan there, downtown Chicago. And I wish you all a great 4th of July, and I hope you found this presentation of interest. And let’s see if there are questions. There are some, okay.
Q&A and Comments
Oh yes, it’s Canada Day. I meant to say that. Tomorrow is Canada Day. “O Canada” will be sung all over the country, both in English and in French. Thank you for reminding me, and happy Canada Day to all our Canadian listeners. Yes, Gershwin died of glioblastoma. “Texas is the second largest state, Delaware is pretty small,” I agree. I didn’t have Texas, I didn’t have Florida, I didn’t have Oklahoma, I didn’t have Arizona. But you know, there are 50 states, and not enough time. If you’d like to continue, I’d be happy to do that. I had a hard time, hard time. “Delaware is not the second largest state in the US.” It is by size, not by population, obviously. I think Wyoming is the smallest by population, and Rhode Island is the smallest by size. “Texas, it’s the largest state by area.” Okay, well we can talk about how big the states are by area and population, let’s go on.
And Rita, I should also say thank you very much for all your comments on Lockdown, and they’re very helpful. And I think of your comments as the Rita-pedia for lockdown. “Not a question, there was also a song called 'Poor Little Rhode Island’.” Okay, thank you for saying that. As you know, I sifted through many songs. “There are other well-known New Orleans songs.” “Battle of New Orleans”, yes, and “New Orleans”, absolutely. You know, we could do a whole programme on New Orleans. We could do a whole programme on New York, California, Texas. “Delightful presentation,” thank you very much. Miriam, “Repeat the name of the lyricist born in Belarus.” That was Mack Gordon, and yeah, look him up. You’ll be astounded by that work. I don’t think Johnny Mercer was involved in “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, but I certainly love Johnny Mercer, and I’ve considered doing a programme just devoted to him, it would be a very worthwhile programme.
“Beatles generation, I must appreciate music from all genders,” thank you Will. “A positive and uplifting presentation.” Well, that’s my aim, and if I had that effect, I’m very happy. I lost my questions, okay. Excuse me while I scroll a little bit more. Okay, thank you, okay. Okay, “Complete delight,” thank you, Alice. Yes, Milton Berle, thank you for mentioning that, was in the “Chattanooga Choo Choo” clip. Uncle Miltie, a very famous TV personality in the ‘50s, and this was between his time in Vaudeville and his time on television. So thank you for pointing that out David, I really appreciate it. Thank you for the next comment. Well okay, “Nat King Cole didn’t have a problem. Society had a problem, racism.” That was my point, Rita. Yeah, I think because of society’s problems, Nat King Cole had a problem. And certainly I think most people would agree with us that Nat King Cole was right, and the racists were wrong. I think that’s a pretty easy call.
Thank you Lorna. “I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo”, okay and yes, yes. A Michigan song, absolutely. Thank you very much, Myra. Oh yes, thank you very much. Well, it depends how old you are, whether it’s your parents’ generation or not. “Father loved Al Jolson,” okay, well yeah. Many memories here, I’m sure, by the different generations who tune into Lockdown. “Would love to have a playlist of the news.” I don’t understand that, but if you ask Lockdown, maybe we’ll be able to respond. Okay, “Thanks from San Mateo,” okay, not too far from Candlestick Park, which I mentioned. And okay, oh yes. Francine, it was not a parody of Jolson’s style, but Jeanette McDonald really, really, really sells the song with Jolson-esque eclan, shall we say, or elan, I should say. Yeah, I mean it’s incredible that this great soprano, who was quite beautiful and shapely, has this ability to put over a song like that, I think it’s amazing. “Fun,” okay.
Well, “Distant memories,” yes, a lot of memories here. “Cagney version of ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ is one of the best dancer teams on film.” Yeah, but everyone’s seen it, and I thought Maurice Chevalier would add a little je ne sais quoi, but I agree with you. “Yankee Doodle Dandy” is a great patriotic film made during the war, and you know, just a wonderful performance by Cagney, who’s a great dancer, as well as many other roles. “Fabulous music,” thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate all these comments. “Down memory lane,” thank you very much, Ray. Thank you Erica, “A second presentation, please.” Well you know, I’m thinking of doing one on politics and elections in American popular song. As I mentioned, the Gershwins wrote “Of Thee I Sing” and “Let Them Eat Cake”, they also wrote “Strike Up the Band.” Irving Berlin wrote “Call Me Madam”, which focused on Harry Truman, and who the Republicans were going to nominate to run against him. He also wrote a song several years later called, excuse me, a show several years later called “Mr. President”, which has some good material in it, even though it wasn’t a great hit. So yeah, there’s a lot of good material on politics if you’d like to hear that.
And thank you once again Rita, I really appreciate it. Okay, excuse me, “Sondheim did seem conspicuous in his absence, otherwise a great presentation.” Well, you know, I could talk about his not very uplifting musical called “Assassins”, which he writes music to go with stories of every attempted assassination of the United States President. That I mean, Sondheim is great. You know, I featured “Ah Paris” from “Follies” in my last talk, and you know in this talk, I focused mainly on popular songs by people, except for the Gershwins, by people other than Berlin, Kern, Sondheim, Rodgers and Hart, because I thought these might be interesting in a different way, and I want to cover as many great American songwriters as possible. So certainly, I think yeah, I think Sondheim is brilliant, and yeah, but I think lots of people are brilliant. Dorothy Fields’ lyrics, and on and on and on. It’s just such a rich, such rich material to mine.
“Check out ‘Assassins’,” thank you again, okay. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Ollie Ford, okay thank you “‘Georgia on My Mind’, Hoagy Carmichael,” another fabulous talent, “Stardust”, “Baltimore Oriole” would be another song that would go in this presentation, many, many. “Lots of Dixieland,” yes, “in your family,” okay. “Down memory lane,” great. “Loved to go down there with you, I’m 94,” okay, wonderful. Milena, I’m very, very happy you’re listening to this. “Mississippi Mud”, you know, that was a song I considered using, and yeah, yeah. Okay great, like “Moonlight in Vermont”, yes, “Autumn in New York.” You know, there’s just so many, and I’m glad you’re responsive with all these suggestions, because it just proves the richness of this genre, and great, I’m delighted you enjoyed it. So I think those are all the questions, for which I thank you. And yeah, I hope to see you again sometime between now and the elections with some new material.
Thanks so much, Ron-
Oh, in the meantime, enjoy the 4th of July. Get out and vote if you’re French, if you’re British, and enjoy Canada Day tomorrow, and the 14th of July if you celebrate that. It’s a pretty full fortnight, but enjoy it to the extent you can, thank you.