Vera Lynn

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Vera Lynn (1962)

Dame Vera Margaret Lynn CH DBE (née Welch ; born March 20, 1917 in East Ham , London ; † June 18, 2020 in Ditchling , East Sussex ) was a British singer . She became famous during the Second World War with the song We'll Meet Again . Because of her appearances in the military and her popularity there, she was nicknamed The Forces' Sweetheart . In Great Britain it was still very popular after the war.

Career

Vera Welch started singing at the age of seven. As a stage name she chose Lynn , the maiden name of her grandmother. She made her first radio appearance in 1935 with the Joe Loss Orchestra , followed by her first record in 1936. In 1937 she became the lead singer in Bert Ambrose's band . Regular appearances on the BBC radio program made Lynn one of the most popular singers in the UK in the late 1930s. Her recordings were particularly popular with British soldiers, which made Lynn The Forces' sweetheart .

Vera Lynn visiting a munitions factory in 1941

From 1941 Lynn performed her songs on the radio program Sincerely Yours , and she also read greetings from home to the front. Her song We'll Meet Again , recorded in 1939 , became her trademark and one of the iconic songs of World War II, but other great hits for Vera Lynn such as There'll Always Be an England (1940) and (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover (1941). The mostly sentimental recordings of Lynn were criticized internally in the BBC; it was feared that it would have a negative impact on morale. When Lynn's show was taken out of the program, however, numerous fans reported, so that after a short time Lynn returned with a new show. In 1943, Lynn starred in the film We'll Meet Again , which was loosely based on her life. Vera Lynn also appeared for the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) in front of British soldiers at the front, including in contested Burma in 1944 .

After the end of World War II, Vera Lynn only briefly interrupted her career. The daughter Virgina was born in 1946, she remained the only child of Vera Lynn and Harry Lewis , with whom she had been married since 1941. In the late 1940s, Lynn made regular radio appearances again. When the BBC decided in 1951 that Lynn's music was no longer up to date, it switched to Radio Luxembourg's English-language program . She also appeared on US radio shows and became a star in the United States. In 1952 she was the first British female artist to score a number one hit on the Billboard charts with the single Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart , the English-language version of the German hit song Auf Wiedersehen . In 1954, Lynn reached number one on the British charts for the first time with My Son, My Son .

Vera Lynn was able to place herself in the German charts with three songs in the 1950s. She also recorded several hits in German, e.g. E.g .: Sogno d'oro, my Darling and Sweetheart my darling my dear . Vera Lynn was supported by Werner Müller and the Rias Dance Orchestra . Vera Lynn achieved a little respectable success in Germany in 1959 with Sweetheart my darling my dear . Her song was announced and presented on the free advertising single "Klingende Post" by WOP Oberkamp.

In 1960, after more than 20 years, Lynn left the Decca record label and signed a new contract with EMI . This was followed by albums with mostly new recordings of jazz standards and popular music from the time of World War II. In the 1960s and 1970s, Vera Lynn presented regular television shows; she was also a guest in several entertainment programs, including several editions of the Royal Variety Performance . In 1972 Lynn hosted a show for the 50th birthday of the BBC, in 1976 she hosted the opening broadcast for the celebrations of the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. She sang the last public performance in 1995 in front of Buckingham Palace on the occasion of the celebrations in memory of VE Day , the end of the war in Europe.

Vera Lynn (2009)

With her album We'll Meet Again - The Very Best of Vera Lynn , she came back to number 1 in the British album charts in 2009 and, at 92, was the oldest living singer to be listed in the top 20. After another album in 2014, another new recording with her original voice was released three days before her hundredth birthday. On March 18, 2017, the London Palladium celebrated a tribute to Vera Lynn. In April 2020, Lynn and singer Katherine Jenkins released a duet of We'll Meet Again during the COVID-19 pandemic , the proceeds will be donated. Both this duet and the original version of We'll Meet Again from 1939 - on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of the war - reached the UK singles charts in spring 2020 and set Lynn further age records.

Vera Lynn lived until her death in June 2020 at the age of 103 years in Ditchling in the county of East Sussex .

Trivia

Pink Floyd's song Vera from the album The Wall is named after Vera Lynn. The lyrics refer to their song We'll Meet Again . This is also used in the final scene of Kubrick's Dr. Strange or: How I learned to love the bomb , in which atomic explosions herald the end of the world, played. Johnny Cash recorded the piece for his last album released during his lifetime.

Awards

In 1969 Vera Lynn was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) , in 1975 she was raised to the British nobility by Queen Elizabeth II as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) . In 2016 she was accepted into the Order of the Companions of Honor .

Recordings

  • The General's Fast Asleep (1935)
  • No Regrets (1935)
  • When the Poppies Bloom Again
  • I'm in the Mood for Love (Rex Records, 1935)
  • Sailing Home with the Tide (Rex Records, 1935)
  • Thanks a Million (Rex Records, 1935)
  • Heart of Gold (Rex Records, 1936)
  • A Star Fell out of Heaven (Rex Records, 1936)
  • Crying My Heart out for You (Rex Records, 1936)
  • It's Love Again (Rex Records, 1936)
  • Did Your Mother Come from Ireland? (Rex Records, 1936)
  • Have You Forgotten so Soon? (Rex Records, 1936)
  • Everything Is Rhythm (Rex Records, 1936)
  • When My Dream Boat Comes Home (Rex Records, 1937)
  • Goodnight, My Love (Rex Records, 1937)
  • All Alone in Vienna (Rex Records, 1937)
  • Careless (1940)
  • Until You Fall in Love (1940)
  • It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow (1940)
  • When You Wish upon a Star (1940)
  • Memories Live Longer Than Dreams (1940)
  • There'll Come Another Day (1940)
  • There'll Always Be an England (1940)
  • Smilin 'Through (1941)
  • When They Sound the Last All Clear (1941)
  • Yours (1941)
  • My Sister and I
  • I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire
  • We'll Meet Again (from the film of the same name, 1942)
  • (There Will Be Blue Birds over) the White Cliffs of Dover (1942)
  • You're in My Arms
  • You Can't Be True, Dear (1948)
  • Again
  • Goodbye sweetheart
  • If You Love Me (Really Love Me)
  • My Son, My Son
  • Homing Waltz
  • Forget me not
  • Windsor Waltz
  • Who Are We
  • A House with Love in It
  • The Faithful Hussar (Don't Cry My Love)
  • Travellin 'Home
  • Hits of the Sixties (Album)

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE UK UK US US
1981 20 family favorites - UK25th
gold
gold

(12 weeks)UK 		-
First publication: 1981
1989 We'll meet again - UK44 (3 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: 1989
1999 The best of - UK-
silver
silver
UK 		-
First published: 1999
2009 We'll Meet Again - The Very Best Of - UK1
platinum
platinum

(18 weeks)UK 		-
First published: 2009
2010 Unforgettable - UK61 (1 week)
UK 		-
First published: 2010
2014 National Treasure - Ultimate Collection - UK13 (10 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: 2014
2017 100 - UK3
gold
gold

(15 weeks)UK 		-
First published: 2017
Her Greatest From Abbey Road - UK45 (1 week)
UK 		-
First published: 2017

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE UK UK US USTemplate: chart table / maintenance / charts non-existent
1939 We'll meet again - UK55 (1 week)
UK 		-
Chart entry in UK only in 2020
1952 Forget me not - UK5 (6 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: 1952
The Homing Waltz - UK9 (3 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: 1952
Goodbye sweetheart - UK10 (1 week)
UK 		-
First published: 1952
1953 The Windsor Waltz - UK11 (1 week)
UK 		-
First published: 1953
1954 My Son, My Son - UK1 (14 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: 1954
1955 Addio amore DE13 (16 weeks)
DE 		- -
First published: 1955
1956 Who Are We - UK30 (1 week)
UK 		-
First published: 1956
Thank you. Thank you DE24 (12 weeks)
DE 		- -
First published: 1956
Such a day - - US96 (1 week)
US
First published: 1956
A House With Love In It - UK17 (13 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: 1956
1957 The Faithful Hussar (Don't Cry My Love) - UK39 (2 weeks)
UK 		US55 (8 weeks)
US
First published: 1957
Travellin 'Home - UK20 (5 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: 1957
1959 Sweetheart My Darling My Dear DE16 (4 weeks)
DE 		- -
First published: 1959
2020 We'll meet again - UK72 (2 weeks)
UK 		-
with Katherine Jenkins
First published: April 10, 2020

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Filmography

  • We'll Meet Again (1942)
  • Rhythm Serenade (1943)
  • One Exciting Night (1944)

literature

  • Vera Lynn: Vocal Refrain. 1975, WH Allen, London.
  • R. Cross: We'll Meet Again .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vera Lynn: 'Mum was determined to put me on stage. I didn't complain ' , The Guardian, Dec. 22, 2017
  2. ↑ BBC Two: Dame Vera Lynn: Happy 100th Birthday , March 18, 2017.
  3. ↑ Vera Lynn back in the charts at the age of 92. dpa article on Stern.de , August 31, 2009, archived from the original on September 2, 2009 ; accessed on March 20, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Dame Vera Lynn breaks own record with new album at 100 . BBC , February 2, 2017, accessed March 20, 2017.
  5. ↑ 100: A Tribute to Dame Vera Lynn. Really Useful Theaters Group, 2017, archived from the original on March 16, 2017 ; accessed on March 20, 2017 (English).
  6. ↑ Listen to Katherine Jenkins and Vera Lynn duet on 'We'll Meet Again' in aid of NHS. Retrieved April 12, 2020 (English).
  7. ↑ Vera Lynn | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Dame Vera Lynn dies at the age of 103. itv, June 18, 2020, accessed on June 18, 2020 (English).
  9. ↑ a b Chart sources: DE UK US
  10. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK
personal data
SURNAME Lynn, Vera
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lynn, Vera Margaret (full name); Welch, Vera Margaret (maiden name); Forces Sweetheart, the (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British singer
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH East Ham , London , England, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH June 18, 2020
Place of death Ditchling , East Sussex , England, United Kingdom