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Cathy Wurzer

How "God Bless America" became a hit

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80 years ago Kate Smith recorded what would become her signature song "God Bless America."

The original version was written in 1918 by Irving Berlin for a show at an Army camp where he was stationed. In the end, he decided that it didn't fit into that show.

Berlin put it away until he was asked to come up with a song for Smith to sing to mark the 20th anniversary of the end of World War I. He re-worked the lyrics a bit and when Smith sang it on her nationally-syndicated radio show, it became an immediate hit.