Music During World War 2 Essay
Music during World War II
The music during World War II was one of the most well-known and popular music eras of all times. Following the Great Depression, the 1930’s era called the “swing era” (Young & Young, 2008), was full of big bands, large dance halls and jitterbug-like beats that kept people on the dance floor. But little did America know that by the early 1940’s, their musical interests and tastes were soon going to change from upbeat tunes, to songs about war and love anthems. This change was brought by the war that Americans wanted to stay isolated from. In 1939-1940, Americans thought of the war to be Europe and Asia’s problem, wanting to remain isolated from the battles that were going on overseas. Many of the American …show more content…
people thought that the aftermath of World War I was the culprit for the great depression. By 1940, attitudes about the war really started to change. President Franklin Roosevelt expressed his concerns and frustrations to the Senate about the isolationist in America (Goble, 2009). At this time, the majority of Americans really came to accept the war and supported it in many ways, knowing that eventually, we would have to join in the fight to defeat the Germans, Japanese and Axis powers. In September of 1941 “The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 took effect, a law that authorized the peacetime drafting of qualified male citizens immediately drafting them into the military” (Young & Young, 2008). Men between the ages of twenty and thirty-six were required to register for the Selective Training and Service Act, despite the many attempts of trying to defer enlistment (Schmidt, 1995). On December 7, 1941 the Japanese made the attack on Pearl Harbor, really changing the attitudes of all of the people of American. This attack made the isolationists realize what President Roosevelt was trying to stress to the American population. The war was not longer about the Europeans and Asians. It had now become a war that affected America, killing around 3,000 Americans at the U.S. Naval base in Hawaii.
Prior to World War II, America was trying to recover from the great depression, but music and radio remained an object of entertainment that reached around 80 percent of Americans either in their homes or workplace.
Because of the draft and the attack of Pearl Harbor, it started to be difficult to fill the big band orchestras that entertained the dance halls before. The government tried to push patriotic and war focused music on the public. Songs like “We’ll Knock the Japs Right into the Laps of the Nazi’s” released in 1941 and “Yankee Doodle Ain’t Doodlin’ Now” released in 1942 (Young & Young, 2008), were war songs that tried to get the Americans fired up and show loyalty and patriotism. At the same time, the music was used to poke fun at the axis powers. The majority of the war songs released during the six years of the WWII era fell short of ever achieving real success, and the public for the most part rejected the music being released. With the failure of many war songs, there were a few songs that became main street hits, such as, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” by the Andrew sisters in 1941. The Andrew sisters sang and danced to the song about an amazing trumpet player who was called to the draft and played in the military day and night. In this song, the Andrew sisters were able to relate to the upbeat jitterbug-like tune that America could dance to, and did not sing of the issues going on during the war other than the draft. Another song, called “Kiss the Boys Goodbye” recorded by Tommy Dorsey, was sung in the movie “Kiss the Boys Goodbye” which was a comedy movie hit that was released in 1941 (Schmidt,
1995).
According to Goble (2009), the government started to encourage the public schools and music educators to teach American patriotism and loyalty to the students of our country. In doing so, the teachings of different musical cultures, especially from the countries of Europe and Japan were not necessarily condoned, but frowned upon. This left the teachers in a hard position, deciding what other forms of music they could teach in public schools to make sure the students had a well rounded education of different musical cultures. In 1941, Walter Kent and Nat Burton wrote one of the most popular songs from the war, “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over), The White Cliffs of Dover” (Young & Young, 2008). This song was recorded in New York by multiple artists, all cutting their own version of the song. The song’s message is about peace and was played countless times on the radios across the country. The song continued to be popular even after the war, and was associated with World War II for many years to follow (Young & Young). After the evasions of both France and Brittan, artists released songs that leant moral support and recognized the courage of the two countries. These ballads tried to look forward to times of peace. The song “Last Time I Saw Paris” was released in 1941, singing about the way we should remember Paris in the lyrics, “Her heart was warm and gay” (Schmidt, 1995), and “There Will Always Be An England” was written in 1939, with lyrics stating, “England will prevail, no matter the odds” (Young & Young, 2008). Even with all of the war songs being recorded, it was obvious by music sales, that the majority of population preferred the traditional, popular, pop tunes. According to Young and Young (2008), the American troops in Europe demanded songs about things that they had left behind, such as their families, wives and girlfriends. They were tired of hearing songs about the brutality and sadness that they were seeing day to day and wanted songwriters to focus more on songs that dealt with having to say goodbye to a loved one, the absence of romance and loneliness they were feeling while fighting in the war. The civilians along with the troops still wanted to hear up beat, fun music. As stated by Young and Young (2008), “there may have been war, but people still liked to dance” and the dance music did not contain any lyrics of suffering or sadness from the war. Love songs were also known as a staple that held marriages and families together during the war. As stated by Cooper (1996), “The personal feelings of soldiers and their loved ones were transformed to vinyl and broadcast across the airwaves”. The recording artists were able to transform longing, love and personal feelings into lyrics that were heard throughout the war, helping make physical separation bearable (Cooper). America was never into the patriotic anthems, but more so the anthems that could relate to their emotional, and personal lives.
In 1943 the United States Army Band set off for a two-week tour to entertain all of the armed forces and civilians. The two-week tour turned into a two-year tour. The popular Glen Miller became the director of the army bands, after enlisting in 1942, and eventually had his own radio show called “I sustain the wings”. The radio show played dance music and helped with recruitment into the armed forces (Young & Young, 2008). With the help of Glen Miller, the U.S. army was also able to advertise war bonds on the show as well, benefiting the army and using the band successfully. By 1944, the Allied forces were said to pulling ahead of the Axis forces. There was a realization that we could be victorious is this war, thus springing a list of up beat, cheerful songs about victory, that started taking over the charts. “Swinging on a Star” was released in 1944, claiming the year’s number one spot on the billboard charts (Schmidt, 1995). Because of the draft and the decreasing numbers of men to fill the orchestras, “girl bands” started appearing in cities throughout the country. The women of the “girl bands” often times received criticism and were not well respected, but despite adversaries, some of the women musicians were part of big band orchestras composed of men, and a few of the all women bands were able to make it on their own. Along with women being part of the big band movement, women were able to join the armed forces, giving them a chance to be apart of their own military band. The 403rd Women’s Army Corps Band was the only band stationed in the hospitals. The band played at dances, welcomed soldiers home and played as a form of therapy to wounded soldiers in the hospitals (Sullivan, 2007). Sullivan also wrote about the surgeon general at that time “realizing the importance of music in the lives of soldiers”. It wasn’t the first time military bands had been used in hospitals, but it was just the first time that a women’s military band was used, and used very successfully. After the war was over, many of the war songs were forgotten, but some of the love anthems remained a staple for future songwriters and recording artists. Since World War II, it is now common to hear songs about love and longing. Many of the songwriters today still write about the same feelings that the people had during 1940’s. Because of these love songs, the war was said to be more bearable and the end goal for those soldiers could be broadcasted in the form of love songs. As stated by Cooper (1996), “coming home from the war was a goal made more appealing not by patriotism, but by love.”
Reference
Cooper, B. L. (1996). Popular Music During World War II: Patriotism and Personal Communications. International Journal Of Instructional Media, 23(2), 181-92.
Goble, J. S. (2009). Nationalism in United States Music Education During World War II. Journal Of Historical Research In Music Education, 30(2), 103-117.
Schmidt, E., & Leonard, H. (1995). I'll Be Seeing You: 50 Songs of World War II. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation.
Sullivan, J. M. (2007). Music for the Injured Soldier: A Contribution of American Women's Military Bands During World War II. Journal Of Music Therapy, 44(3), 282-305.
The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Of Company B. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qafnJ6mRbgk
Young, W., & Young, N. (2008). Music of the World War II era. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.
The music during World War II was one of the most well-known and popular music eras of all times. Following the Great Depression, the 1930’s era called the “swing era” (Young & Young, 2008), was full of big bands, large dance halls and jitterbug-like beats that kept people on the dance floor. But little did America know that by the early 1940’s, their musical interests and tastes were soon going to change from upbeat tunes, to songs about war and love anthems. This change was brought by the war that Americans wanted to stay isolated from. In 1939-1940, Americans thought of the war to be Europe and Asia’s problem, wanting to remain isolated from the battles that were going on overseas. Many of the American …show more content…
people thought that the aftermath of World War I was the culprit for the great depression. By 1940, attitudes about the war really started to change. President Franklin Roosevelt expressed his concerns and frustrations to the Senate about the isolationist in America (Goble, 2009). At this time, the majority of Americans really came to accept the war and supported it in many ways, knowing that eventually, we would have to join in the fight to defeat the Germans, Japanese and Axis powers. In September of 1941 “The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 took effect, a law that authorized the peacetime drafting of qualified male citizens immediately drafting them into the military” (Young & Young, 2008). Men between the ages of twenty and thirty-six were required to register for the Selective Training and Service Act, despite the many attempts of trying to defer enlistment (Schmidt, 1995). On December 7, 1941 the Japanese made the attack on Pearl Harbor, really changing the attitudes of all of the people of American. This attack made the isolationists realize what President Roosevelt was trying to stress to the American population. The war was not longer about the Europeans and Asians. It had now become a war that affected America, killing around 3,000 Americans at the U.S. Naval base in Hawaii.
Prior to World War II, America was trying to recover from the great depression, but music and radio remained an object of entertainment that reached around 80 percent of Americans either in their homes or workplace.
Because of the draft and the attack of Pearl Harbor, it started to be difficult to fill the big band orchestras that entertained the dance halls before. The government tried to push patriotic and war focused music on the public. Songs like “We’ll Knock the Japs Right into the Laps of the Nazi’s” released in 1941 and “Yankee Doodle Ain’t Doodlin’ Now” released in 1942 (Young & Young, 2008), were war songs that tried to get the Americans fired up and show loyalty and patriotism. At the same time, the music was used to poke fun at the axis powers. The majority of the war songs released during the six years of the WWII era fell short of ever achieving real success, and the public for the most part rejected the music being released. With the failure of many war songs, there were a few songs that became main street hits, such as, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” by the Andrew sisters in 1941. The Andrew sisters sang and danced to the song about an amazing trumpet player who was called to the draft and played in the military day and night. In this song, the Andrew sisters were able to relate to the upbeat jitterbug-like tune that America could dance to, and did not sing of the issues going on during the war other than the draft. Another song, called “Kiss the Boys Goodbye” recorded by Tommy Dorsey, was sung in the movie “Kiss the Boys Goodbye” which was a comedy movie hit that was released in 1941 (Schmidt,
1995).
According to Goble (2009), the government started to encourage the public schools and music educators to teach American patriotism and loyalty to the students of our country. In doing so, the teachings of different musical cultures, especially from the countries of Europe and Japan were not necessarily condoned, but frowned upon. This left the teachers in a hard position, deciding what other forms of music they could teach in public schools to make sure the students had a well rounded education of different musical cultures. In 1941, Walter Kent and Nat Burton wrote one of the most popular songs from the war, “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over), The White Cliffs of Dover” (Young & Young, 2008). This song was recorded in New York by multiple artists, all cutting their own version of the song. The song’s message is about peace and was played countless times on the radios across the country. The song continued to be popular even after the war, and was associated with World War II for many years to follow (Young & Young). After the evasions of both France and Brittan, artists released songs that leant moral support and recognized the courage of the two countries. These ballads tried to look forward to times of peace. The song “Last Time I Saw Paris” was released in 1941, singing about the way we should remember Paris in the lyrics, “Her heart was warm and gay” (Schmidt, 1995), and “There Will Always Be An England” was written in 1939, with lyrics stating, “England will prevail, no matter the odds” (Young & Young, 2008). Even with all of the war songs being recorded, it was obvious by music sales, that the majority of population preferred the traditional, popular, pop tunes. According to Young and Young (2008), the American troops in Europe demanded songs about things that they had left behind, such as their families, wives and girlfriends. They were tired of hearing songs about the brutality and sadness that they were seeing day to day and wanted songwriters to focus more on songs that dealt with having to say goodbye to a loved one, the absence of romance and loneliness they were feeling while fighting in the war. The civilians along with the troops still wanted to hear up beat, fun music. As stated by Young and Young (2008), “there may have been war, but people still liked to dance” and the dance music did not contain any lyrics of suffering or sadness from the war. Love songs were also known as a staple that held marriages and families together during the war. As stated by Cooper (1996), “The personal feelings of soldiers and their loved ones were transformed to vinyl and broadcast across the airwaves”. The recording artists were able to transform longing, love and personal feelings into lyrics that were heard throughout the war, helping make physical separation bearable (Cooper). America was never into the patriotic anthems, but more so the anthems that could relate to their emotional, and personal lives.
In 1943 the United States Army Band set off for a two-week tour to entertain all of the armed forces and civilians. The two-week tour turned into a two-year tour. The popular Glen Miller became the director of the army bands, after enlisting in 1942, and eventually had his own radio show called “I sustain the wings”. The radio show played dance music and helped with recruitment into the armed forces (Young & Young, 2008). With the help of Glen Miller, the U.S. army was also able to advertise war bonds on the show as well, benefiting the army and using the band successfully. By 1944, the Allied forces were said to pulling ahead of the Axis forces. There was a realization that we could be victorious is this war, thus springing a list of up beat, cheerful songs about victory, that started taking over the charts. “Swinging on a Star” was released in 1944, claiming the year’s number one spot on the billboard charts (Schmidt, 1995). Because of the draft and the decreasing numbers of men to fill the orchestras, “girl bands” started appearing in cities throughout the country. The women of the “girl bands” often times received criticism and were not well respected, but despite adversaries, some of the women musicians were part of big band orchestras composed of men, and a few of the all women bands were able to make it on their own. Along with women being part of the big band movement, women were able to join the armed forces, giving them a chance to be apart of their own military band. The 403rd Women’s Army Corps Band was the only band stationed in the hospitals. The band played at dances, welcomed soldiers home and played as a form of therapy to wounded soldiers in the hospitals (Sullivan, 2007). Sullivan also wrote about the surgeon general at that time “realizing the importance of music in the lives of soldiers”. It wasn’t the first time military bands had been used in hospitals, but it was just the first time that a women’s military band was used, and used very successfully. After the war was over, many of the war songs were forgotten, but some of the love anthems remained a staple for future songwriters and recording artists. Since World War II, it is now common to hear songs about love and longing. Many of the songwriters today still write about the same feelings that the people had during 1940’s. Because of these love songs, the war was said to be more bearable and the end goal for those soldiers could be broadcasted in the form of love songs. As stated by Cooper (1996), “coming home from the war was a goal made more appealing not by patriotism, but by love.”
Reference
Cooper, B. L. (1996). Popular Music During World War II: Patriotism and Personal Communications. International Journal Of Instructional Media, 23(2), 181-92.
Goble, J. S. (2009). Nationalism in United States Music Education During World War II. Journal Of Historical Research In Music Education, 30(2), 103-117.
Schmidt, E., & Leonard, H. (1995). I'll Be Seeing You: 50 Songs of World War II. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation.
Sullivan, J. M. (2007). Music for the Injured Soldier: A Contribution of American Women's Military Bands During World War II. Journal Of Music Therapy, 44(3), 282-305.
The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Of Company B. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qafnJ6mRbgk
Young, W., & Young, N. (2008). Music of the World War II era. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.