What year did God Bless America come out?

Answer 1

God Bless America was originally written by Irving Berlin in 1918, during the First World War. He wrote it for an army camp show at Camp Yaphank on Long Island, where he was stationed. The song was rejected by the show's producers, so Berlin filed it away in a trunk of manuscripts, where it was almost forgotten.

In 1938, Kate Smith was America's most popular female singer. Her weekly radio program attracted a large audience. Her producer asked Berlin to write a patriotic song for Kate Smith to sing, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of the First World War (November 11, 1918). Berlin remembered the song he had written twenty years earlier, retrieved it out of the trunk, and made a few minor improvements to it.

Kate Smith sang God Bless America on her radio program for the first time on Thursday, November 10, 1938. The switchboard was jammed by enthusiastic callers and became an instant hit.

On March 21, 1939, Kate Smith recorded God Bless America. That original recording has been reissued many times since. The royalties from the song all go to the Boy and Girl Scouts of America through the God Bless America Foundation, established by Irving Berlin in 1940. The song has been recorded by a few other artists, but none came close to Kate Smith's rendition. For several years, it was played prior to the start of home games of hockey's Philadelphia Flyers, in place of the National Anthem.

(The above information was obtained from The Kate Smith Commemorative Society.)

Answer 2

God Bless America was originally written by Irving Berlin in 1928 & revised in 1938

Answer 3

It was written by Irving Berlin in 1918, for a show called "Yip Yip Yaphank."