[78-L] God Bless America 1st broadcast (was: Kate Smith eBoy item)

[Michael Biel]

Still trying to track down info about the recording of the first Kate 
Smith broadcast of God Bless America.  A listener to the broadcast I did 
on YesterdayUSA just emailed tonight that the choral director Ted 
Straeter had contracted with a studio to record only the music and that 
his estate were selling off thediscs a few years ago on ebay and that he 
did get a couple but God Bless America was very expensive.  He said that 
the Kate Smith Commemorative Society and an actor he could remember had 
gone in on it together.  He says that the Society played it once at a 
convention but never issued it.

Lennick dd a posting about the disc showing up again on ebay in April at 
$7000 but although it is still there right now at $4750, it seems to 
have finally been sold.  AND it turns out it is a Harry Smith recording 
made for Ted Straeter, and is marked on the label as the original.  
According to Michael R. Pitts' Kate Smith Bio-Bibliography, this 
recording was on both Sunbeam P-510 and Sandy Crook SH-2085.  True to 
form, the SH has the contents of the Sunbeam except for the fact that 
the Sunbeam is a 2-LP set and the SH has only half of it.  I just got 
the Sunbeam today and the recording is NOT the broadcast.  It is from 
the film "This Is the Army". I've seen photos of the cover of the SH and 
it headlines the broadcast recording as being on it.  IF the Sandy Hook 
actually has the correct broadcast recording -- the one with the altered 
lyrics -- then it is NOT totally Sandy CROOK.  Does anybody have it?????

Here is Lennick's original posting including the URL so you can see the 
photos.  Can dl tell us about Michael Feinstein's comment?  Where was 
it?  I do not see the real broadcast recording listed in the NYPL online 
catalogs, nor the LPs.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com

On 4/16/2011 11:03 PM, David Lennick wrote:
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400204219130&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
>
>
> I'm not sure if this is the same disc we've seen previously, but Michael
> Feinstein has pointed out that it's definitely not the only existing copy of
> Kate's first performance of God Bless America. A copy is in the New York Public
> Library and the audio is identical to the sample this seller previously posted.
> (Was this also once cited as being a glass lacquer? It would definitely not be
> an original in that case since glass discs weren't in use in the US in 1938.)
>
> Buy it now for $7000..yeah, right.
>
> dl