Kate Smith

Kate Smith

Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (born May 1, 1907 in Washington, DC , † June 7, 1986 in Raleigh , North Carolina ) was an American singer with a five-decade long radio, television and recording career.

Life

Kate Smith developed a love for song and dance as a child; she has sung in the church choir and at local festivals and has won a number of awards for her vocal performances. Despite her parents' aversion to show business, she appeared at an early age in smaller theaters and nightclubs, and in 1926 she was discovered by a New York show producer. Although she had never completed a professional vocal training, she performed successfully on Broadway musicals, but because of her full- figured figure more often as an object of rough slapstick jokes than as a singer.

Kate Smith was about to end her stage career when she was discovered in 1930 by Ted Collins, Vice President of Columbia Records . Collins became her manager and, although married, her longtime partner. He made records with Smith, got her appearances at the Apollo Theater, and got her on the radio in 1931. She was quickly offered her own show on NBC , which first aired twice, then soon six times a week: Kate Smith Sings . She did her next shows at CBS : Kate Smith and Her Swanee Music (1931–33), The Kate Smith Matinee (1934–35), The Kate Smith New Star Revue (1934–35), Kate Smith's Coffee Time (1935– 36) and The Kate Smith A&P Bandwagon (1936-37). Her signature song was When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain , the lyrics of which she co-wrote. She always greeted her audience with Hello, everybody! and said goodbye with thanks for listenin ' .

At the same time, Smith continued to record. In 1931 she sang Dream a Little Dream of Me . Her greatest 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). She sang in 1931 the controversial Top Twenty song That's Why Darkies Were Born , where black Americans will be thanked that they picked cotton and despite their enslavement still sang: why were the Dark born ( That's why darkies were born ).

For eight years, from 1937 to 1945, The Kate Smith Hour was one of the leading radio shows in the United States. The show offered a mixture of music, drama and comedy, and major film and theater stars made regular appearances. Regular comedy guests included Bud Abbott and Lou Costello as well as Henny Youngman . In addition to The Kate Smith Hour , Smith also had the most popular daily show, Kate Smith Speaks , a show on which she commented on news with Ted Collins. In 1950 she began appearing on television, initially on her own afternoon show, The Kate Smith Hour (1950-54). The show was so successful that Kate Smith got a weekly evening show on NBC, The Kate Smith Evening Hour . She made countless guest appearances on the shows of Ed Sullivan , Tennessee Ernie Ford , Dean Martin and Andy Williams .

Kate Smith only appeared in three films: in 1932 she had a cameo on The Big Broadcast ; that same year she starred alongside Randolph Scott in the film Hello Everybody! . In 1943 she sang Irving Berlin's song God Bless America in the war film This Is the Army . The song, written by Berlin in 1918, became Kate Smith's greatest and lifelong hit, with which she helped sell millions of war bonds during World War II . Kate Smith's version of the song became a lucky charm for the Philadelphia Flyers ice hockey team . The singer herself appeared in front of many of the club's games and sang her song. (Supposedly, Smith's appearances are the background to the saying It ain't over till the fat lady sings .)

In 1956, Ted Collins suffered a serious heart attack, presumably due to overworking Smith's management. Kate Smith stated that she would never appear on a TV show again and that she devoted over a year to caring for her significant other. In 1960, Ted Collins produced another weekly television show with Smith, but the ratings were poor. In the meantime there was a new musical fashion with rock 'n' roll that Kate Smith could not and would not serve. The show was canceled after just one season and Kate Smith only appeared again when she wanted to.

Ted Collins died in 1964. Kate Smith only appeared as a guest in shows and gave occasional concerts in nightclubs. In 1966 she received a Grammy for her gospel album How Great Thou Art . In the 1970s, Kate Smith gave concerts and performed in nightclubs. In 1982 Kate Smith received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan .

In 1999 she was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame . A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame commemorates Kate Smith.

The US Postal Service issued a 44-cent postage stamp with her portrait on May 27, 2010 .

Web links

• The Kate Smith Commemorative Society
• Kate Smith on Lost Heroines
• Kate Smith in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Kate Smith performing "God Bless America"

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.lyricsdownload.com/kate-smith-that-s-why-darkies-were-born-lyrics.html
2. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0808889/bio
3. ↑ Philadelphia Inquirer: New stamp honors Kate Smith, Flyers' charm  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ USPS 2010 Stamp Program Unveiled ( Memento of the original from November 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.