Music in World War II

Mobile desert combat required a large number of radio units, and the British troops in the North African Campaign started to enjoy the song so much that it was quickly translated into English.

This gave a nature to American troops' music during WWII: not as many songs were sung around a fire or while marching, but instead were listened to between combat on Armed Forces Radio.

In a nod to the special services and sacrifices the troops were making both overseas as well as domestically, many of these songs were specially re-recorded by their original artists for a Department of Defense musical and morale mission entitled V-Discs for the exclusive consumption by military personnel, similar to Armed Forces Radio.

With drafting numbers reaching close to 500,000, the Defense institutions began to make military bands on the home front, to support patriotism and nationalism.

[4] There were many other patriotic wartime songs during this time such as, "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" by Glenn Miller and "Arms for the Love of America" by Irving Berlin in 1941.

[4] After the successful incorporation of music into the war efforts, more was needed in order to keep hopes alive and stable in the U.S. and on the front.

[6][7][8] Professional musicians and composers from both North and South America were invited to concertize together on radio shows such as Viva América to support these efforts.

[8][6][9] Included among these musicians were: Alfredo Antonini, Juan Arvizu, Nestor Mesta Chayres, Eva Garza, Elsa Miranda, Miguel Sandoval, John Serry Sr. and Terig Tucci.

[10][11][12][13] In the years immediately after World War II, the United States Army continued to utilize music as a form of cultural diplomacy amidst the ruins of western Europe.

Through a series of live musical performances and broadcasts over the Armed Forces Radio Services network, the orchestra successfully promoted mutual understanding and peace between the German and American people for a decade until 1962.

Americans wanted a quick final victory over the Axis without compromise and the songs about a world after the war at peace with the boys coming home not only met the personal desires of people but also reflected the goals of US government.

During the war, the BBC was forced to adapt, if only because British soldiers were listening to German radio stations to hear dance music.

The American hit "Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer," for example, was censored because of its almost blasphemous mix of religious words and a foxtrot melody.

The BBC tried hard to stick to the jaunty tone which they felt had helped to win the first world war - so George Formby and Gracie Fields were regularly played.

Popular concert songs in Britain during the war included: The theme tune of the TV series Dad's Army, "Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler?"

Modern composers who took a more conventional approach to music, however, were welcomed by the Third Reich; Carl Orff and Richard Strauss, for example, were able to stay in the country during the Nazi period.

Also, a subtle factor of history makes gaining a reliable picture of the music of Germany more difficult than among the Allies.

The Wunschkonzert für die Wehrmacht [de], or "Request Concert for the Armed Forces", was a radio program broadcast from Berlin.

Connecting the military to the home front and vice versa, contributed to the Volksgemeinschaft, the Nazi concept of a "people's community".

But as the war went poorly the objectives of the government moved from building a perfect German state to keeping the population in line, and the relative importance of morale-raising songs would have increased.

Popular songs were officially encouraged during the war including: Goebbels commissioned a swing band called "Charlie and His Orchestra" which existed for supplying propaganda to British and American troops over the radio.

"[23] During World War II, often cut off troops or isolated outposts found themselves exposed in the radio range of the enemy, which used popular music as a means to attract listeners and then provide propaganda messages.