In honor of the holiday weekend, we’re posting both parts of last year’s “American Popular Song and World War II” Afterglow program, featuring special guest Michael McGerr, author, cultural historian, and Indiana University professor. We’ll hear some of the martial-spirited songs from the early months of America’s entry into the war (“Remember Pearl Harbor” and “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition”), as well as pre-war songs about the draft, songs about rationing and shortages, songs about the separation of lovers, and much more, including some radio news broadcasts. For more sounds of World War II, visit the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s audio archive. You can also view their online collection of World War II sheet music. To listen to Part 1 of the Afterglow special, click on this link. (Here’s Part 2.)
Watch the Andrews Sisters perform “You’re a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith,” from the 1941 Abbott and Costello movie Buck Privates:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPbu11otHbE
Music Heard On This Episode
