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Kate Smith

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Kate Smith
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(born May 1, 1909, Greenville, Va., U.S. — died June 17, 1986, Raleigh, N.C.) U.S. singer, long known as the "First Lady of Radio." Smith studied nursing before moving to New York City, where she won a Broadway role as an overweight girl who was the butt of jokes. In 1931 she began her immensely popular radio show Kate Smith Sings, which ran for 16 years; her theme song, "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain," became familiar to millions. In 1938 she created the news and gossip program Kate Smith Speaks and introduced Irving Berlin's song "God Bless America." She hosted several television shows in the 1950s. In 1982 she was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom.

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Dictionary: Smith, Kathryn Elizabeth
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(Known as "Kate.") 1909-1986.

American singer noted especially for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America," first performed in 1938.


Artist: Kate Smith
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Ginny Simms, Vera Lynn, Sylvia Syms, Jo Stafford, Vaughn DeLeath, Shirley Temple, Margaret Whiting, Lena Horne, Ethel Merman, Frankie Laine, Shirley Ross, Elsie Carlisle, Gertrude Lawrence, Judy Garland

Followers:

Judith Durham, Liz Callaway

Performed Songs By:

K. Smith, Oscar Hammerstein II, Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin
See Kate Smith Lyrics
  • Born: May 01, 1907, Greenville, VA
  • Died: June 17, 1986, Raleigh, NC
  • Active: '20s, '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s
  • Genres: Vocal Music
  • Instrument: Vocals
  • Representative Albums: "16 Most Requested Songs," "God Bless America," "The Best of Kate Smith"
  • Representative Songs: "God Bless America," "When the Moon Comes over the," "The Last Time I Saw Paris"

Biography

The "Songbird of the South," vocalist Kate Smith was one of the most popular stars of the pre-World War II era; she remains best remembered for her definitive version of the patriotic anthem "God Bless America," which became a hit on no less than three separate occasions. Born Kathryn Elizabeth Smith in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 1907, she initially trained to be a nurse but began singing professionally during the early 1920s, soon relocating to New York to pursue roles in vaudeville and on Broadway, where she appeared in Honeymoon Lane in 1926. The owner of a thunderous contralto, Smith signed to Columbia in 1927, debuting with "One Sweet Letter From You," backed by Red Nichols' Charleston Chasers. In 1931 she began hosting her own radio show; its theme song, "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain," subsequently became her first major hit, selling some 19 million copies.

In 1932, Smith scored her second smash with "River, Stay 'Way from My Door," recorded with Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians; they later backed her on "Too Late," another Top Ten success issued that same year -- in all, she recorded two dozen hits for Columbia between 1927 and 1946. While American listeners looked to Smith for assurance throughout the Depression era, she became an icon in 1938, when she recorded Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" for Victor; within a year its success established it as a kind of unofficial national anthem, and upon the United States' entrance into WWII it re-entered the charts in both 1940 and 1942. In addition to her radio popularity, Smith also appeared in films, starring in The Big Broadcast of 1932 and This Is the Army in 1943; from 1951 to 1954, she also hosted an afternoon television program. Smith remained active after the 1964 death of her longtime manager Ted Collins. She began suffering from poor health a number of years later, and died from diabetes on June 17, 1986. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Actor: Kate Smith
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  • Born: May 01, 1907 in Washington, D.C.
  • Died: Jun 17, 1986 in Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '30s-'60s, '80s, 2000s
  • Major Genres: Music, Musical
  • Career Highlights: Hello, Everybody!, Tennessee Ernie Ford: A Ford Show Family Christmas, The Kate Smith Show
  • First Major Screen Credit: Hello, Everybody! (1933)

Biography

Though she didn't speak a word until the age of four, Kate Smith made up for lost time by launching her stage career at age five with a Washington, D.C., church choir. Despite her parent's objections, she insisted upon remaining in show business and by age ten was singing for the WWI troops, earning a special commendation from General Pershing. The hefty young contralto made her Broadway debut as Tiny Little in Eddie Dowling's 1926 musical Honeymoon Lane. She then joined the cast of Flying High, in which she was subjected to a barrage of cruel and insulting "fat jokes" by leading man Bert Lahr. Record executive Ted Collins rescued her from this nightly public humiliation by taking Smith on as a client, and by 1931 she was starring in a popular four-a-week radio series for the CBS network. Signing on each evening with her signature theme "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain," she soon developed a huge fan following with her warm, easygoing style. Less popular was an attempt at film stardom in the 1933 vehicle Hello, Everybody, though her guest appearances in such films as The Big Broadcast (1933) and This Is the Army (1943) were well received. She is undoubtedly most closely associated with Irving Berlin's patriotic ballad "God Bless America," which for all intents and purposes became her personal property after 1938. Billed as "the first lady of radio," her airwaves credits included the daytime talk show Kate Smith Speaks (1938-1947), in which she expounded extemporaneously on any number of topics, most optimistic in nature. On TV, she headlined two weekly series in 1951 and 1960. Curtailing her appearances after the death of her partner/mentor Ted Collins in 1964, Kate Smith retired completely in 1979; three years later, she received the coveted Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan (her co-star in This Is the Army). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmography: Kate Smith
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A Salute to the Red, White & Blue: Memorable Performances from The Ed Sullivan Show

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Studio Snapshots

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This Is the Army

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Wikipedia: Kate Smith
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For other uses, see Kate Smith (disambiguation).
Kate Smith

Background information
Birth name Kathryn Elizabeth Smith
Born May 1, 1907(1907-05-01)
Greenville, Virginia
Died June 17, 1986 (aged 79)
Raleigh, North Carolina
Occupations Singer

Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Smith had a radio, TV and recording career spanning five decades, reaching its most-remembered zenith in the 1940s.

Her musical career began in earnest when she was discovered by Columbia Records vice president Ted Collins in 1930, who became her longtime partner and manager and who put her on the radio in 1931. She sang the controversial top twenty song of 1931, "That's Why Darkies Were Born". She starred in the 1932 movie Hello Everybody!, with co-stars Randolph Scott and Sally Blane, and in the 1943 wartime picture This is the Army she sang "God Bless America". Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1918.

Kate began making records in 1926; among her biggest hits were "River, Stay 'Way From My Door" (1931), "The Woodpecker Song" (1940), "The White Cliffs of Dover" (1941), "Rose O'Day" (1941), "I Don't Want to Walk Without You" (1942), "There Goes That Song Again" (1944), "Seems Like Old Times" (1946), and "Now Is the Hour" (1947). Her theme song was "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain", the lyrics of which she helped write. She greeted audiences with "Hello, everybody!" and signed off with "Thanks for listenin'."

Contents

Radio

Kate's broad figure made her an occasional object of derision from fellow performers and managers; however, in her later career, some Philadelphia Flyers hockey fans (see Kate Smith statue below) lovingly said about her performances before games, "it ain't BEGUN 'til the fat lady sings!" Smith, who weighed 235 pounds at the age of 30[1] was unfazed, and titled her 1938 autobiography Living in a Great Big Way. She credited Ted Collins, who also gave her the break into the radio business, with helping her overcome her self-consciousness, writing, "Ted Collins was the first man who regarded me as a singer, and didn't even seem to notice that I was a big girl,"[2] She noted, "I'm big, and I sing, and boy, when I sing, I sing all over!"[2]

Smith was a major star of radio, usually backed by Jack Miller's Orchestra. She began in 1931 with her twice-a-week NBC series, Kate Smith Sings (which quickly expanded to six shows a week), followed by a series of shows for CBS: Kate Smith and Her Swanee Music (1931-33), sponsored by La Palina Cigars; The Kate Smith Matinee (1934–35); The Kate Smith New Star Revue (1934–35); Kate Smith's Coffee Time (1935–36), sponsored by A&P; and The Kate Smith A&P Bandwagon (1936–37).

The Kate Smith Hour was a leading radio variety show, offering comedy, music and drama with appearances by top personalities of films and theater for eight years (1937–45). The show's resident comics, Abbott and Costello and Henny Youngman introduced their comedy to a nationwide radio audience aboard her show, while a series of sketches based on the Broadway production of the same name led to The Aldrich Family as separate hit series in its own right in 1940.

Smith continued on the Mutual Broadcasting System, CBS, ABC, and NBC, doing both music and talk shows into the 1950s. Because of her popularity, Smith's face was a common sight in print advertisements of the day. Over the years, she acted as a commercial spokesman for numerous companies such as Studebaker, Pullman, and Jell-O.[3]

Smith's rotund figure wasn't the only satire target she inspired. Her standard, cheery radio sign-on was parodied by edgy comedian Henry Morgan when he launched his own show in 1942: "Good evening, anybody, here's Morgan," which became his trademark sign-on for the rest of his radio career. Morgan would recall in his memoir, Here's Morgan, that Smith's sign-on struck him as condescending: "I, on the other hand, was grateful if anybody was listening."

Significance in professional sports

On October 8 1987, the Kate Smith statue was dedicated outside the Spectrum in Philadelphia prior to the Flyers game vs. the Montreal Canadiens.

When the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team played her rendition of "God Bless America" before their game on December 11, 1969, an unusual part of her career began. The team began to play the song before home games every once in awhile; the perception was that the team was more successful on these occasions, so the tradition grew.

At the Flyers' home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 11, 1973, she made a surprise appearance to perform the song in person and received a tremendous reception. The Flyers won that game by a 2-0 score.

She again performed the song at the Spectrum in front of a capacity crowd of 17,007 excited fans before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on May 19, 1974, in which the Flyers clinched their first of two back-to-back Stanley Cups, winning that playoff series against the Boston Bruins 4 games to 2, with Bernie Parent shutting the Bruins out 1-0 in that game.

Smith also performed live at these Flyers home games: May 13, 1975, when the Flyers beat the New York Islanders 4-1 to win Game 7 of the Stanley Cup semi-finals (after which New York Islanders captain Ed Westfall infamously tried to jinx the Flyers "good luck charm" in Kate Smith by presenting her with a bouqet of roses) , and on May 16, 1976, before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals, when the Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 and were swept by Les Canadiens in that series.

The Flyers' record when "God Bless America" is played or sung in person stands at a remarkable 77 wins, 21 losses, and 4 ties.[4] Ms. Smith and her song remain a special part of Flyers' history. In 1987, the team erected a statue of Smith outside their arena at the time, the Spectrum, in her memory. The Flyers will still show a video of her singing "God Bless America" in lieu of "The Star Spangled Banner" for good luck before important games, most recently before their victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 15, 2008 and again on April 19, 2009 before game 3 of the opening round of the playoffs versus the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as the loss in Game 4 on April 21, 2009. Often, the video of her performance is accompanied by Lauren Hart, daughter of the late Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster, Gene Hart, longtime voice of the Flyers.

In 1982, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan.

Her rendition of "God Bless America" is also played during the 7th inning stretch of most New York Yankees home games.

Proceeds or money from her performances of "God Bless America" are donated to the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.

Death

Kate Smith, who never married, died of diabetes in 1986 in Raleigh, North Carolina, several years after converting to Roman Catholicism. Her remains are interred in a private mausoleum at Saint Agnes Cemetery in Lake Placid, Essex County, New York. In 1999, she was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

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References

  1. ^ Current Biography 1940, pp 745-7
  2. ^ a b Cassidy, Marsha Francis (2005). What Women Watched: Daytime Television in the 1950s. U. of Texas Press. pp. 51-53. 
  3. ^ "Gallery of vintage graphic design featuring Kate Smith as spokesman". http://graphic-design.tjs-labs.com/gallery-view?keyword=KATE%20SMITH&match=EXACT. 
  4. ^ "Flyers History - Kate Smith". FlyersHistory.net. http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/kate.cgi. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 

External links

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Broadcasters

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kate Smith".  Read more

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