Posted on 06/18/2020 8:00:36 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
Dame Vera Lynn, who’s rendition of We’ll Meet Again became an anthem for hope during World War Two, has died at the age of 103. “The family are deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers at the age of 103,” a statement said.
“Dame Vera Lynn, who lived in Ditchling, East Sussex, passed away earlier today, 18th June 2020, surrounded by her close family.” ,p> The singer and actress, dubbed the Forces’ Sweetheart, rose to fame during the second World War.
Lynn is best known for hits such as We’ll Meet Again, her rendition of which was hugely popular during the war.
As she turned 100 in 2017, she looked back on her life. She established the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity in 2001. And she said it is her charity work – not her wartime bravery – for which she wants to be remembered.
“I’d love it to be my legacy,” she said. “I’ve never considered my actions as courageous. I was just doing my job.”
Dame Vera Lynn’s daughter recalls growing up with Forces sweetheart Lynn released her first single Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire in 1936.
At the start of the wartime, she began singing for people sheltering in air raid shelters before recording her version of We’ll Meet Again in 1939.
After topping a poll of British servicemen to find their favourite performer, she became known as the Forces’ Sweetheart
Vera Lynn’s songs also include Sweetheart, Dancing with Tears in My Eyes, The White Cliffs of Dover and Rose of England.
Thanks!! That was great!!
I always preferred Louis Jordan for G.I. Jive, which I heard a day or two ago on the Sirius 40's channel. I think Johnny wrote it, but Louis always cracks me up.
I think I’ve heard Louis Jordan’s version at one time. He and Maurice Chevalier were great entertainers in their days. Doris Day also sang during the war, and of course Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Mercer wrote many tunes over the years. I’ve got a crapload of Big Band and WWII albums...both U.S. and British. I was the baby of the family born in ‘47. My two older sisters were into the 50’s music, so I grew up with all the great groups, and single artists like Pat Boone. Me and my 2nd oldest sister had to get ourselves white bucks because of Pat.
About 30 years ago, I won a jukebox in a contest. It plays 45s, and I have it loaded with songs from the 40s, 50 and 60s and nothing later.
Lucky you! Most of the music I listen to is from the mid-1920's to the onset of Beatlemania in the mid-'60's. But I'm not sure I can name so much as a dozen songs that charted from Ronald Reagan's inauguration to the present day.
Reminds me of my high school days in the 60's. When lunch break came, a bunch of us kids would run a few blocks down from the school, and have lunch at the sweet shoppe. My mother gave me a dollar everyday, and I'd get a small tuna sub, a bag of chips, and a soda. And I'd still have a couple of nickels to put into the juke box they had there. I remember the place like it was yesterday.
Once while driving west along Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, Calif. late at night, I saw a bright light streaking through the sky in my direction, obviously a rocket. So I parked to watch the light streak overhead and turned on the radio.
I figured that if I heard the voice of Vera Lynn singing "We'll Meet Again," it would mean that the rocket was coming from the other side of the world. But I didn't hear her voice, which assured me that the launch was from Vandenberg Air Force Base up the coast.
Teenage Machine Age--The Travelers (1958)
The 80's is probably the last time I kept up with new music. It was the MTV era, and there were a lot of one or two hit wonders at that time. My wife and I watch Jeopardy every day and we always groan when the topics are about pop culture from after the 80s. I mainly listen to classical these days. Listening to a Mozart symphony right now.
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