Songs Sung Red, White, and Blue : The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs

throughout Our Nation's History, Patriotic Songs Have Lifted Our Spirits During Hard Times And Brought Us Closer To Our Heritage And To Each Other. Behind These Songs Sung Red, White, And Blue Are Unforgettable Stories That Will Enrich Your Appreciation Of Their Unique Power. it's Hard To Imagine A Single American Who Hasn't Been Touched Deeply At One Time Or Another By The Songs In These Pages. From The Soaring Chorus Of God Bless America To The Quiet Poetry Of America The Beautiful, Historian Ace Collins Takes You Inside The Creation Of Thirty-two Classic Songs Spanning Two Centuries. Military Anthems Like The Marine's Hymn And Anchors Aweigh Share Pages With Other Songs Of War, Such As The War Of 1812's The Star-spangled Banner And The Civil War's Battle Hymn Of The Republic. Popular Tunes Dating Back To The Earliest Days Of Our Nation, Such As Yankee Doodle, Are Included Alongside Contemporary Hits Like God Bless The U.s.a. Other Favorites Like This Land Is Your Land And This Is My Country Reflect On Our Nation In Times Of Peace. you'll Meet A Surprising And Diverse Cast Of Behind-the-scenes Characters, Which Includes Both Everyday Americans — Teachers, Preachers, And Soldiers — As Well As Celebrated Songwriters Like Irving Berlin And George M. Cohan. Here Are Songs That Are As Close To Our Hearts As Any Ever Written — Songs That Form A Rousing Soundtrack To America's Story. library Journal in This Entertaining Little Book, Historian Collins Assembles Information About 35 Patriotic Songs, Including Favorites Such As God Bless America And Yankee Doodle, Along With Marches (stars And Stripes Forever), U.s. Armed Services Music, And Some That Might Be Considered Marginally Related (e.g., The Yellow Rose Of Texas). For Each, He Presents The Background Of The Composers And Lyricists, If Known, Sets The Time Period And Historical Context, And Provides A Biographical Sketch Of The Performers Who Recorded Or Popularized The Song. Unfortunately, Texts Are Given For Only About A Third Of The Songs; The Book Would Have Benefited From Providing These And Sheet Music For All The Songs For Which Permission Could Be Obtained. On The Whole, The Information Appears Reliable, Although The Lack Of References And Some Personal Biases And Unfortunate Word Choices Detract. Collins's Work Complements, With Some Overlap, The Patriotic Sections Of William Studwell's The National And Religious Song Reader, In Which The Treatment Of Each Song Is Much Less Detailed. Recommended Especially For Public Libraries And Americana Collections.-barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, Oh Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. Learn the unforgettable true stories behind two centuries of America's favorite songs from “America the Beautiful” to “You're a Grand Old Flag”.Throughout our nation's history, patriotic songs have lifted our spirits during hard times and brought us closer to our heritage and to each other. Behind these “songs sung red, white, and blue” are unforgettable stories that will enrich your appreciation of their unique power.It's hard to imagine a single American who hasn't been touched deeply at one time or another by the songs in these pages. From the soaring chorus of “God Bless America” to the quiet poetry of “America the Beautiful,” historian Ace Collins takes you inside the creation of thirty-two classic songs spanning two centuries. Military anthems like “The Marine's Hymn” and “Anchors Aweigh” share pages with other songs of war, such as the War of 1812's “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the Civil War's “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Popular tunes dating back to the earliest days of our nation, such as “Yankee Doodle,” are included alongside contemporary hits like “God Bless the U.S.A.” Other favorites like “This Land Is Your Land” and “This Is My Country” reflect on our nation in times of peace.You'll meet a surprising and diverse cast of behind-the-scenes characters, which includes both everyday Americans—teachers, preachers, and soldiers—as well as celebrated songwriters like Irving Berlin and George M. Cohan. Here are songs that are as close to our hearts as any ever written—songs that form a rousing soundtrack to America's story. Abraham, Martin and John The Air Force song America the beautiful An American trilogy Anchors aweigh The Army song The ballad of the Green Berets Battle cry of freedom Battle hymn of the Republic The battle of New Orleans Columbia, the gem of the ocean The fightin' side of me God bless America God bless the U.S.A. Hail Columbia Hail to the chief I'm a Yankee doodle dandy The Marine's hymn My country 'tis of thee (America) Over there Semper paratus (Always ready) The stars and stripes forever The star-spangled banner Taps This is my country This is the Army This land is your land The Washington post (march) When Johnny comes marching home Yankee doodle The yellow rose of Texas You're a grand old flag. Documents the history behind thirty-five of America's most popular and famous patriotic songs, describing the events and people that contributed to such piecees as "Taps," "The Star-Spangled Banner," and "Yankee Doodle." If there was one event that seemed to signify just how tragic the Civil War had been, it was when the president was killed at Ford's Theatre.