Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
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5/08/2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- During World War II, each American had a role to play in the war effort. That effort included songwriters. The government's attempt to get the music industry to help gather support for the war is the subject of a new book by Kathleen E.R. Smith, an assistant professor of history at Northwestern State University.

Smith's book, "God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War," was published by the University Press of Kentucky. The project began as Smith's doctoral dissertation.

"I knew I wanted to do something on World War II, but I didn't want to do something that focused on the military," she said. "Eventually, I settled on the music of World War II that my parents and people of that generation played and danced to."

During World War I, George M. Cohan wrote the popular song "Over There" which helped gather support for the war. Soon after the U.S. entered World War II, planners began trying to come up with another war song that would be a hit with the public.

"Some of them felt that if they didn't come up with the right song, we would lose the war because the morale of the people and the soldiers would falter," said Smith. "This little-known government commission brought together all of the leading songwriters of the day including Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Rodgers and Hammerstein and tried to tell them how to write the perfect war song."

Smith immediately became fascinated by the topic and by the effort put forth to write a popular song to support the war.

"I enjoyed looking through the songs that were written," said Smith. "There were contests all over the country to come up with songs. And there were some minor hits like "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," but stations overplayed it and it lost popularity."

The commission was never completely successful in part because of a change in the music buying public. The war created a new class of consumers, teen age girls, who didn't want to buy war songs.

"These teenagers stepped into jobs as waitresses or clerks when others moved into factory jobs and they didn't have as many things to spend their money on," said Smith. "Records and sheet music were available during the war because they were considered good for morale.

"These girls have lost their boyfriends and they want to hear 'sloppy love songs' kind of like today's sweet pop. Those songs didn't have war themes."

Smith said in some cases, people would read things into a popular song such as "I'll Be Seeing You" which was written in 1938 but was one of the most popular songs of 1944.

"Men and women listeners could read their own situations into the words of love ballads, and even though the songs' lyrics do not mention war, the song's popularity during wartime made it a war song," she said.

The committee remained active throughout the war as part of an unprecedented government effort to shape public opinion.

"It was an amazing job of propaganda," said Smith. "It was the first time the U.S. government went for wholesale propaganda to reach all levels of American society. Music was one way to do it."

Interestingly, the government effort focused on "popular" music and did not try to influence country music which was beginning to gain more listeners.

"Country songs were very blunt in their lyrics about the war and what we would do to the Germans and Japanese," said Smith. "But the government officials thought this music was aimed at people of lower economic status, so they did nothing in this area."

Smith will hold a book signing on June 6 at The Book Merchant located at 512 Front Street in Natchitoches.

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