WWII entertainers
 

I just love this stuff, but I have only seen a little bit. These girls are cute and talented beyond all natural reason. And they're funny too.

If you watch this you will smile.

"Solid Potato Salad" byThe Ross Sisters:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=15283 64317

Another amazing song I can't get to right now is "Shrimpers and rice" by the Andrews Sisters. These girls are worth looking up on youtube if you like the ross sisters at all.

Does anyone else like this stuff? Does anyone know where else to get it? I would love to have a dvd or something.

EDIT: Ok I found this amazing Andrews Sisters one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI1n-EfqYe0

where's the new generation of this for the iraq war? we could sure use/appreciate it.

I think everyone prefers the WWE now

Andrew Sisters! My God, I honestly never thought I'd see them mentioned on the SY forum. I love them. In that wartime vein, I heartily recommend Edith Piaf or the Ink Spots. Neither particularly reflective of their time, except for a tacit melancholy to their music.

My new year's resolution was to buy more wartime popular music. I've found a fair few compilations, I'll up some of them if I ever figure out vinyl>digital.

I have a very hard time with WWII popular music. Too peppy, too square. I just can't do it.
I also can't stand Edith Piaf, but I can see the appeal there at least.

Marlene Dietrich was excptionally good.

(In 1941 the U.S. entered the Second World War and Dietrich became one of the first celebrities to raise war bonds. She entertained troops on the front lines in a USO revue that included future TV pioneer Danny Thomas as her opening act. Dietrich was known to have strong political convictions and the mind to speak them. Like many Weimar era German entertainers, she was a staunch anti-Nazi who despised anti-Semitism.

She recorded a number of anti-Nazi records in German for the OSS, including "Lili Marleen". She also played the musical saw to entertain troops. She sang for the Allied troops on the front lines in Algiers, France and into Germany with Generals James M. Gavin and George S. Patton. When asked why she had done this, in spite of the obvious danger of being within a few kilometers of German lines, she replied, "aus Anstand" – "it was the decent thing to do".

Dietrich was awarded the Medal of Freedom by the US Government for her war work. She was also made a chevalier (later commandeur) of the Légion d'Honneur by the French government.)

Sixteen Tons (1947, so slightly post-)


(Merle Travis)
I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
Picked up a shovel and I walked to the mine
I hauled Sixteen Tons of number 9 coal
And the straw-boss said, "Well, bless my soul"

(Chorus:)
You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get?
Another older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

Repeat Chorus
Born one morning it was drizzle and rain
Fightin' and Trouble are my middle name
I was raised in a canebrake by an old mama lion
And no high-toned woman make me walk the line

Repeat Chorus
See me comin' better step aside
A lot of men didn't and a lot of men died
I got one fist of iron and the other of steel
And if the right one don't get ya, the left one will

Repeat Chorus
Born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
Picked up a shovel and I walked to the mine
I hauled Sixteen Tons of number 9 coal
And the straw-boss said, "Well, bless my soul"

Repeat Chorus

Didnt Gracie Fields have a film called "Sally Down the Alley" :s