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TDC: Vera Lynn, age 103


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About two and half years ago I wrote a column for an area weekly newspaper about her, due to the inclusion of "White Cliffs of Dover" in a local theatrical production. Text pasted here:

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn (DBE)?’

Let’s tell it like it was: This past weekend’s grand reopening of Tallassee’s Mt. Vernon Theatre and the musical drama presented there comprised the kind of event that this community needed. From what I could tell, it was a well-received production that brought smiles to the faces of almost all of the attendees in the newly-revitalized facility.

And that’s heartening.

One wonders how many readers will recognize the title of this week’s commentary as the first line of a very brief song titled “Vera” on Pink Floyd’s morbid-yet-iconic album The Wall, but that’s not the subject of this essay. For that matter, the caboose abbreviation, which stands for “Dame of the British Empire,” isn’t part of the Pink Floyd ditty’s lyrics.

I’ll let other writers critique the musical and dramatic performances in Dear Mama in detail, but one song that stood out, at least, for me, was Susie’s Seal’s rendition of “The White Cliffs of Dover.” That song was performed in Great Britain during World War II by English chanteuse Vera Lynn, the subject of the Pink Floyd tune. It’s a plaintive and wistful prediction of what life will be like after the hostilities have ended, and Seal’s pure and natural voice appropriated such a musical rumination perfectly.

The second line of Pink Floyd’s “Vera” states: “Remember how she said that we would meet again, some sunny day?”. That’s a reference to Lynn’s other huge wartime hit, “We’ll Meet Again.”

And it seems somewhat bizarre that the first reference some entertainment buffs might recall regarding “We’ll Meet Again” was its use in the closing doomsday montage of nuclear weapon detonations in the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove. For younger generations, it’s also heard in a 2017 movie called Kong: Skull Island.

Odd cinematic associations of her best-known songs aside, an examination of Vera Lynn’s life validates why she’s a national treasure for Great Britain. Even though her earliest hits were heard over 75 years ago, she’s being referred to here in the present tense—she’ll celebrate her 101st birthday on March 20.

Vera Lynn began singing in public while she was still a child. Like many American vocalists of her generation (Doris Day, Betty Hutton), she first came to prominence as a singer in dance bands. She recorded her first album in 1936.

Other hits by Lynn included “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” (also recorded by Bobby Darin, Rod Stewart, and Mel Torme, among others), written in late 1939, soon after the outbreak of World War II (it helps to remember the British were in that conflict for over two years before Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the conflagration).

And by its very title, “There’ll Always Be An England,” is obviously another patriotic song that Lynn recorded in the early days of the war.

As it turned out, Lynn became a British equivalent of Bob Hope (who was born in England), ultimately becoming known as “The Forces’ Sweetheart.”

She was a prominent member of the Entertainment National Service Association, which was created to coordinate entertainment events for troops (even those in faraway lands). Lynn did concerts in India, Burma, and Egypt, and created her own radio show in 1943, performing songs requested by soldiers. She also visited families of military personnel, passing along their messages to their loved ones via the airwaves, and did morale-boosting shows at British factories.

After the war, she continued her successful music career for decades, and easily transitioned to television. She also continued her extensive charity work, for causes such as breast cancer and cerebral palsy.

She was named as a Dame of the British Empire—the female equivalent of knighthood—in 1975.

And it’s ultimately not surprising that she released a single in 1982 titled “I Love This Land,” written by André  Previn, to mark the end of the Falklands War.

The list of Lynn’s accomplishments extends over three-quarters of a century, and a recent milestone was an anthology album, Vera Lynn 100, released last year just prior to her 100th birthday. It peaked at No. 3 on the UK album charts. She became the oldest living artist to have a hit record, as well as the first centenarian to do likewise. The thing is, she beat her own record—she’d also had a hit album in 2014, when she was 97.

Vera Lynn is the kind of personality whose historical accomplishments deserve appreciation. Being as how Tallassee and surrounding area is pretty patriotic, she sounds like our kind of, er, Dame.

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RIP Vera Lynn.  She was 'featured' holographically in a virtual duet with Katherine Jenkins in a BBC program commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE Day just this last month:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We'll_Meet_Again

Most Americans probably aren't familiar with her music, though there's a good chance they've heard her before, like Willie mentioned:

 

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