Irving Berlin considered "God Bless America" his most important work
July 2, 2007 (Monday) - As we move closer to July 4 and the celebration of our independence as a nation, patriotic songs are being heard in our heads.One of the very best is "God Bless America."
Kate Smith made Irving Berlin's "God Bless America," popular, and predicted the song would remain popular long after her generation had passed. She appears to have been right.
Irving Berlin wrote "God Bless America" in 1918, for a camp show during WWI, but the song was rejected by the show's producers, so Berlin placed in in a trunk, where it remained until 1938, when Kate Smith, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of Armistice Day, sang it for the first time on her radio broadcast. It instantly became one of the most popular songs ever.
Berlin considered it his most important work. For a time, there was a movement to make it the national anthem. It enjoyed a new burst of popularity following the events of September 11, 2001, and today may be heard often at public gatherings. We sang it in church last Sunday:
Here's a site where you can read the words, hear the music, and even hear Kate Smith sing it.
http://www.god-bless-america-lyrics.com/