Nat King Cole. Bob Hope. George M. Cohan. Is it possible that what they accomplished, their very essence as artists and their impact on American culture, has all but been forgotten?

Yes, it is.

Legendary performers such as Cole, Hope and Cohan are almost entirely unknown to those less than 30 years old. And soon the impact of what these icons accomplished—their sheer brilliance—will be gone.

I mentioned the name of Nat King Cole in one of my college classes recently. Only a handful of my 70 students knew his name. Almost no one in the class knew that Nat King Cole was one of the finest jazz singers of the 20th century, with one of the most recognizable voices of any era.

Nobody in the class knew that Cole was the first black entertainer to host his own television show, which occurred, amazingly, in the mid 1950s. (That was nearly a decade before Bill Cosby’s breakthrough starring role in 1965 as secret agent Alexander Scott in “I Spy.”)

I mentioned many of his most famous songs: Mona Lisa;  Get Your Kicks on Route 66;  Unforgettable;  Ramblin’ Rose;  Answer Me, My Love; and Straighten Up and Fly Right.

But not one song title seemed to ring a bell.  I explained to them that prior to his singing career, Nat King Cole had already established himself as one of the best jazz pianists of his time, with the Nat King Cole Trio.   But I knew I was speaking to deaf ears.

I decided to also ask them about Bob Hope. Suddenly, many hands in the classroom waved. Several students knew that Hope was a comedian. And a few even knew that Bob Hope had entertained American troops overseas. But as I tried to discover what they knew about his artistic career, all the blank faces returned.

I told them how in the 1920s, Bob Hope had established himself on Broadway as perhaps the best known actor and singer. And how he took a huge risk and went into radio—then a very new and virtually unknown concept—and became the top radio star of his day. I told them that he then switched to motion pictures, and soon became the highest paid movie actor in Hollywood. And finally, how Hope took another risk — trying the next new innovation, called television—where he became the best known and highest paid television personality.

I marveled at what Bob Hope had accomplished:  reaching the top in theater, radio, movies and television, along with his decades of unpaid service entertaining  American military personnel. But I could tell they were not all that impressed. After all, that was a long time ago. A long, long time.

I knew that there was no chance that any of my students had heard of George M. Cohan. After all, he had begun writing hit songs over 100 years ago. But I offered them his name, just to see.

And, of course, no one recognized him.

But would they remember any of his music? Give My Regards to Broadway;  Over There;  It’s A Grand Old Flag; and I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy. Not even a flicker of recognition. Just a few rolling eyes, some forced smiles and an occasional chuckle.

But when I began to sing the opening lines of Yankee Doodle, starting with  “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy, A Yankee Doodle, do or die. A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam,  Born on the Fourth of July…”  there was a sudden murmur, smiles, gestures and recognition! They knew the tune! They knew the tune! Amazing.

“You mean he wrote that tune over 80 years ago?” one young woman asked. Yes, I said, and it was actually more than 100 years ago!
“Gee,” she said. “I had no idea!”

Seeing their recognition of one of Cohan’s songs, I decided to tell my students that there was an excellent movie musical version of his life called Yankee Doodle Dandy.  In fact, I added, James Cagney won the Academy Award for his performance as Cohan in that film.

I really should have anticipated the next question.

“Who was James Cagney?”

]]> http://justthepoint.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/nat-king-cole-bob-hope-and-george-m-cohen-three-legends-lost/feed/ 2 richardkleeberg http://justthepoint.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/how-did-god-get-into-the-pledge/ http://justthepoint.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/how-did-god-get-into-the-pledge/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:21:33 +0000 Richard Kleeberg http://justthepoint.wordpress.com/?p=35 ]]>

© 2008 By Richard Kleeberg    All Rights Reserved

Keep God in the Pledge!   Take God out of the Pledge!  You’ve certainly heard the arguments about the Pledge of Allegiance.  And you certainly have an opinion.

But did you know that the man who wrote the Pledge actually chose NOT to put “God” into it?    And did you know he was a Christian minister?

Here’s what most people DON’T know about our Pledge of Allegiance.  And it may change your opinion!

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy,  a Baptist Minister. Bellamy wrote the Pledge for a Columbus Day celebration for public schools.

Reverend Bellamy wanted to write a secular Pledge – a Pledge of civic pride that citizens of any and all religious faiths could offer to their Country.  When some people did ask him to mention God somewhere in his Pledge,  he explained to them that he chose not to do so  because his purpose was to create a  Pledge that would bring people together,  even people from very different faiths.   Bellamy wanted to ensure that all citizens could comfortably join together to state their allegiance to our flag and our country.

Bellamy’s original 1892  Pledge of Allegiance said:

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

The Pledge of Allegiance became an almost instant nationwide hit!  But there have been some changes made.

In the 1920s the Pledge was modified twice, first changing “my flag”  to  “the flag,” and then by adding the words “of America” after “the United States.”

Next there was a change in the method people used to salute the flag during the Pledge.  Reverend Bellamy had created and led the original Flag Salute, which called for each person to lift up and straighten their right arm, with the palm facing up.  For 50 years, that is how all Americans saluted the Flag during the Pledge!

But by 1942,  Congress became concerned about that Flag salute! 

Many members of Congress worried that using the straight right arm, with the palm facing up,  was far too similar to Hitler’s NAZI salute!   So Congress eliminated the straight arm up form of salute, and instead substituted the present ritual we all know well, where we place our right hand over our heart,  as we recite the Pledge.

And what about he words in question, Under God ? These two words were added in 1954, during the height of our nationwide fear of the Soviet threat of Godless communism.

A three year national campaign was led by the Knights of Columbus (a fraternal order for Roman Catholic men).    Congressman Louis Rabout, a very devout Roman Catholic,  directed the effort in Congress.  (Just how devout was the Rabout family? One of Rabout’s sons became a priest, and two of his daughters became nuns!)

The United States Congress officially added “Under God” to the Pledge on Flag Day, June 14, 1954.   While  a band played Onward Christian Soldiers , President Eisenhower,signed the new law,  and stated:

“… from this day forward, children will proclaim the dedication of our Nation to the Almighty”.

Senator Homer Ferguson, a co- sponsor of this 1954 law, was more specific about the reason for adding   ”Under God” to the Pledge. He said: 

“. . .God, our Creator, is in control of the destiny of America.  America cannot be defended by guns alone.   Expenditures for defense will be of value only if God believes we are right.”

Some people now question that 1954 action by Congress.   Did Congress violate the First Amendment of the Constitution – which says, in part, that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion?  It’s a very good question, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Perhaps just knowing that “Under God” was never intended to be part of the Pledge – and how, why and when those words found their way into the Pledge – is enough for some to reconsider their opinion about God in our Pledge of Allegiance.

(Email Richard Kleeberg at:  Starbase222@sbcglobal.net)