As The Greatest Generation inexorably moves on, it is important to remember them for the sacrifices the all made for us, and for the stories that their souls keep.
And THAT, is the power of music.
By the way, for those who are not familiar with the trumpet refrain, that Col. Tueller gave that evening in June 1944, he played a Lili Marlene. If World War 2 had a theme song, Lili Marlene was it. It was a favorite of both Germans and Allied soldiers far and wide.
Here it is interpreted by Lala Anderson:
And its USO version, preferred by our soldiers:
The story on how this song became as famous as it did, is worthy of a separate blog entry by itself. It started as a simple anti World War 1 poem penned by a convalescing German Soldier. It then got put into music, in the 1930's I believe and fell into obscurity. That was until the Anschluß of Austria in 1938, when it was re-recorded. Upon the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1940, a low level officer in the equivalent of the German USO was tasked to go to Vienna, grab as many recordings as he could find, and come back to Belgrade. That way the Occupation Radio Station could be well stocked with German songs. Supposedly a recording of Lili Marlene was indiscriminately stashed in one of the crates and sent down to Belgrade. There it was selected at almost random and played in the radio station. From then on, every German soldier requested it, and the rest is history.
About two years ago, John Batchelor made a fascinating recount of its story. Take your time, and listen to the podcast. The interview starts at (01:36:32). It is well worth it.
Pod Cast is: HERE
Boq
And THAT, is the power of music.
By the way, for those who are not familiar with the trumpet refrain, that Col. Tueller gave that evening in June 1944, he played a Lili Marlene. If World War 2 had a theme song, Lili Marlene was it. It was a favorite of both Germans and Allied soldiers far and wide.
Here it is interpreted by Lala Anderson:
And its USO version, preferred by our soldiers:
The story on how this song became as famous as it did, is worthy of a separate blog entry by itself. It started as a simple anti World War 1 poem penned by a convalescing German Soldier. It then got put into music, in the 1930's I believe and fell into obscurity. That was until the Anschluß of Austria in 1938, when it was re-recorded. Upon the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1940, a low level officer in the equivalent of the German USO was tasked to go to Vienna, grab as many recordings as he could find, and come back to Belgrade. That way the Occupation Radio Station could be well stocked with German songs. Supposedly a recording of Lili Marlene was indiscriminately stashed in one of the crates and sent down to Belgrade. There it was selected at almost random and played in the radio station. From then on, every German soldier requested it, and the rest is history.
About two years ago, John Batchelor made a fascinating recount of its story. Take your time, and listen to the podcast. The interview starts at (01:36:32). It is well worth it.
Pod Cast is: HERE
Boq
Unfortunately, did not work on the Russian Front...
There is a good German movie about the songstress who recorded the song and was pulled out from obscurity when the song resurfaced during the WWII and her complicated life as a new darling of the Third Reich...
It's not the first time music has brought people together, and I'm sure it won't be the last.