mavis says yonder come david with >> he quoted the song. he says, may have is said you come to baby with your rocking swing. he started singing, they started the show. i was standing on one side and then he started singing and pop said, wait a minute, y'all. listen to what he's singing. he was saying, how many roads must a boy walk down before i call him a man. and he was saying when he was a boy in mississippi, he couldn't walk on the same side of the street. if a white person was coming towards him, he had to cross over. so daddy said, we can sing that song, y'all. and we went home, we've got bob

dillon, we learned "blowing in the wind." the answer, my freiend, is blowing in the wind. pop could literally live it because it was real with him. he would tell us a lot of stories. between pops and my grandmother, man, those were the best times sitting on the floor listening to stories. but he'd sing, if i had a hammer, i'd hammer in the -- oh, he was something. just genius. just genius. and it was such an honor to meet a man like pete seger. just like we were invited to blues festivals, we were invited to folk festivals. i didn't understand, i was a young girl. daddy, these people invited us -- we would go to the folk

festival and all of a sudden we would hear folk songs. i said, well, that's the closest to gospel. they're singing truth. then you look out and you see all these flower children with the flower -- oh, man, i just loved it. newport, i would have the best time. newport this year, newport, rhode island festival in my birthday party. yeah. [applause] >> everybody is invited. everybody is invited. yes, indeed. >> that's one of the great festivals, right? that's the one. >> it's one of the great festivals, yes. >> with the time that we have left, as we said before, singers

often found themselves on the pop charts. there was a word respect. aretha franklin sings it and all of a sudden that word takes on meaning. the staples singer did the same thing. talk about respect and how that came about. >> "respect," matt weiss wrote that. the same guy that wrote "mustang sally." and matt, when he told us, look, we're in the studio and matt came in and said, pop, now, when you sing it, you got to say -- pop said, man, i ain't saying that. that's not the staples sing. i'm not going to say it. and matt said, pop, you have all the little kids, you'll have everybody saying it. we talked pops into doing it, and lo and behold, matt was

right. respect yourself, you know, bob, that's my favorite. it's still my favorite. and i think that today "respect yourself" just needs to be recorded all over again, because some of these children -- i woe won't say all -- but some of the children, man, they don't -- haven't been taught to respect themselves or to respect your elder. you respect your elder. you don't talk back to no grown person. i would have been getting up off the floor. i would love to hear someone record "respect yourself" again and it be explosive like it was back in the '70s. because pops -- one of the black song rangers told pops, i'm glad

you ask your daughter recorded that song "respect yourself." i was on the bus the other day and i realized after hearing that song, i wasn't respecting myself. here's a little old lady on the bus, and i let her stand up while i'm sitting down. and i have thought about that song. he said, let me stand up and let this lady sit down. and pop said, that's exactly what we want to happen. that's why we sing that. >> in order to respect fellow man, you have to respect yourself. >> you got to respect yourself. ♪ if you don't respect yourself, ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot ♪ >> mavis staples! >> thank you! thank you, bob! help me up. >> thank you. >> thank you, bob. whoo! thank you! thank you, all.

all right, i got a new niece. i didn't tell them about my niece. bye bye. okay. bye bye. >> for my next guest, taking a completely different tack because instead of talking about music, we're going to hear some music first. graham nash you might remember if you remember the 1960s, as a member of the hollys, one of the great british invasion groups, then in the late 1960s, he comes to america, in particular to california, falls in love with the weather there, a certain woman, the music, and basically starts a brand new career as a member of perhaps, arguably, american rock and roll's first super group, crosby, stills & nash. since then he's been involved not in great music, he's been a

man of conscience, he's performed songs for the good of the people, for the good of the environment, for songs that basically commit to a particular message. he's been a friend of the grammy museums, he's been a friend of all of yours if you've been following his career. he's a great individual and an incredible musician and songwriter. please welcome to the stage, mr. graham nash. >> how are you all doing? >> whoo! >> yikes. this must be david crosby's stool. i'm very pleased to be here, obviously. i got a phone call in early 1969

from a friend of mine called hugh romney. he was a beat poet from new york city who now goes by the name of wavy gravy, one of our heroes. anyway, he called me and said the hippies who disrupted the democratic national convention in chicago in late '68 had been arrested for disruption and needed funds for their defense fund, and would me and david and steven and neil consider going to chicago. i could go and crosby could go, but steven and neil had made other plans earlier and couldn't go. so i wrote this song, actually, for steven and neil. ♪ >> okay. ♪

♪ so your brother's bound and gagged, won't you please come to chicago, just to sing ♪ ♪ in a land that's known as freedom ♪ ♪ how can such a thing be bad ♪ won't you please come to chicago ♪ ♪ for the help that we could bring ♪ ♪ we can change the world ♪ we are range the world ♪ is dying to get better ♪ politicians, sit yourself down ♪ ♪ there's nothing for you here ♪ won't you please come to chicago ♪ ♪ for a ride

♪ don't ask to help you, he might turn the other ear ♪ ♪ won't you please come to chicago or else join the other side ♪ ♪ we can change the world ♪ rearrange the world is dying if you believe in justice ♪ ♪ if you believe in freedom ♪ let a man live his own life ♪ those regulations who needs them all ♪ ♪ somehow people must be free ♪ i hope the day comes soon ♪ won't you please come to chicago ♪ ♪ show your face ♪ from the bottom of the ocean ♪ to the mountains of the moon

♪ won't you please come to chicago ♪ ♪ no one else can take your place ♪ ♪ we can change the world, yes, we can ♪ ♪ rearrange the world ♪ he's dying if you believe in justice ♪ ♪ if you believe in freedom ♪ let a man live his own life ♪ some of those regulations who needs them ♪ ♪ open up the door [applause] >> thank you.

thank you. de ♪ dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee ♪ >> must be 50 years since i tuned my own guitar. i'm not sure whether you feel the same way, but sometimes your life gets changed with a phone call, and here was another one. i got a call from crosby one day. i was in los angeles with steven. and davy said, book the studio, book the engineer, buy some tape, get the band together, we're coming down. and i said, crosby, you sound intense. what's going on? he said, wait until you hear this song that neil young has just written. i said, okay, what's it about? it's about penn state. and i knew exactly what was going on.

so i went to the studio and they came down the next day. we recorded "ohio" in probably an hour and a half. we did the b side, which is the song steven called "the cost of freedom." our dear friend who is the ceo and president of the records was in the studio that night, so we gave him the tape and told him to put it out immediately as a signal. and he said, well, you know that you have a single out already. it's called "teach your children" and it's going into the top 20 already, and are you sure you want to do this? we said, listen, when america starts to kill its own children, we're in deep trouble here. so let's put this out. that single, and we killed our own single of "teach your children," but the single of" ohio" was out about 12 days

later. so this was the song that neil wrote. ♪ ♪ tin soldiers and nooks and cranny ♪ ♪ we're finally on our own ♪ this summer i hear the drumming ♪ ♪ for dead in ohio ♪ got to get down to it ♪ soldiers are cutting us down ♪ should have been done long ago ♪ ♪ what if you knew her and found her dead on the ground ♪ ♪ how can you run when you

know ♪ ♪ na, na, na, na, na, narks na, narks ♪ ♪ na, na, na, na, na, na, na ♪ na, na, na, na, na, narks na, narks ♪ ♪ na, na, na, na, na, na ♪ got to get down to it, soldiers are cutting us down ♪ ♪ should have been gone long ago ♪ ♪ what if you knew her and found her dead on the ground ♪ ♪ how can you run when you know, know, know, know ♪ ♪ tin soldiers and nicks and

crannies ♪ we're finally on our own ♪ this summer i hear the drumming ♪ ♪ for dead in ohio ♪ for dead in ohio ♪ for dead in ohio ♪ for dead in ohio >> thanks. >> i'm not usually this depressed. but there are many, many problems facing this world, as we all know, and all the stuff you've been hearing about this morning and will hear about for the next few days are just some

of the problems. but we must keep hope, we must look at the world through the eyes of our children and our grandchildren. we must make sure that we make it a better place. it seems to be an overwhelming problem right now with all the stuff that's going on with global warming and the political situation, the wars that are going on throughout the world, but we can make it. we can make it a better place, there's no doubt about it. there is a song i wrote that's called "teach your children." ♪ you who are on the road ♪ must have a code that you can live by ♪ ♪ and so become yourself ♪ because the past is just a

goodbye ♪ ♪ teach your children well ♪ because that bothers hell that slowly go by ♪ ♪ and feed them on your dreams ♪ the one they pick is the one you'll know by ♪ ♪ don't you ever ask them why ♪ if they told you, you would cry ♪ ♪ so just look at them and sigh ♪ ♪ and know they love you ♪ and you of tender years

♪ can't know the fears that your eldest grew by ♪ ♪ and so please help ♪ them with your youth ♪ because they seek the truth ♪ before they can die ♪ and teach your parents well ♪ because their children's hell will slowly go by ♪ ♪ and beat them on your dreams ♪ the one they pick is the one you know by ♪ ♪ don't you ever ask them why ♪ if they told you, you would cry ♪ ♪ so just look at them and

sigh ♪ ♪ and know they love you [applause] >> thank you. thank you, thank you. >> graham nash! >> thank you very much. >> that was wonderful. >> it's a little hard singing rock and roll this early in the morning, but that's all right. >> the songs that you sang, of course, very appropriate for what we're talking about, as you

said, the next couple days. in the 1960s when you were coming up, as i mentioned, you come across the atlantic, the hollys are behind you, you come to america and you begin a second phase of a long career of the the'60s were really an interesting time because for the very first time, pop music in general as we knew it was really embracing other ideas besides puppy love and teen angst. all of a sudden they become songs of conscience, if you will. these songs helped define not just a decade, but an entire nation. it really helped to shape things. the question is, and i know this is hard to answer. i often ask this of artists. does the artist have the responsibility to write songs like that, that they're not just for entertainment, although that is a valid reason to write one,

but there is the need, the responsibility to write songs of consequence, to write songs that have a little deeper meaning. what's your take on that? >> i think one has to realize that we're just a small link in an incredibly long and beautifully strong chain going all the way back since before pete seger and bob. we're all troubadours going from town to town letting everyone know the empire doesn't have any clothes on and we're trying to find the wisdom behind things. we know how many curtains and how many wizards there are. a responsibility? i think it's a responsibility as a human being, not just as a musician. thank god for music in my life. i have no idea what i'd be if

music hadn't come into my life. so i have to thank my mother and father for encouraging me instead of forcing me to get a real job. i mean, i work harder than anyone i know, but i still don't have a job. it's an unbelievable existence. do we have a responsibility to do that? >> or do you feel that you personally have a responsibility? >> i have the responsibility to talk about stuff that bothers me. i don't write for anybody. i don't write for david or steven or for neil, i don't write for anybody but me. i have to get my feelings out. i have to express myself, and the way that i do that is through art and music. like i said, i'm an incredibly lucky person because i would probably be absolutely without question have been in an insane

asylum if i didn't have this ability to get my feelings out. it's not a responsibility, it's a drive, it's a need to express myself in as many ways as i can. yes, i wrote my share of, you know, moon june scumie in the back of the car. the hollys made an incredible career out of that. when i moved to america and i began to hang out with crosby and steven and neil and joannie, i began to realize that even though i had done a couple of interesting deeper songs when i was with the hollys, and especially towards the end there, it wasn't until i came to america that i began to really realize that it was important not to waste people's time. because in many ways, time and

our family and our friends are all that we have that's real. so i don't want to sit you down and play you a song that's going to waste your time, because first of all, i'm wasting mine doing it, and i don't want to do that. my father was dead at 46, i'm now 72 years old. i cherish every second. i'm grateful for every second i'm alive. i'm incredibly proud to be an american citizen as i've been for the last 30-odd years. i didn't feel it was right to be hypocritical about this country, and if i was going to sit there and criticize this country and criticize the people that run it and praise the country for its incredible beauty and the beauty of its people, i felt i would be hypocritical if i didn't become a member of this society. and so i did many, many years ago. i don't know if any of you know anything about los angeles, but there is a very famous hot dog

stand called pink's, and i went from the dorothy chamill pavilion and many others that day and steven said s, you're a american citizen, right? i said, i think so. he said, come on, we're going to ping's. >> do you think in the 1960s where songs of conscience were exploding, we talked to mavis earlier, there are all kinds of artists from bob dillon to jefferson airplane writing lots of songs that carried deeper meaning than just love songs. did the music have an apparent meaning on the outcome, the vietnam war in particular, what was happening in the civil rights movement? how much, in your opinion, did the music play in the success or failure of it? sdplz t

>> the momentum of this country is incredible as a planet. and to move it any one direction takes an enormous amount of energy. and the movements you do detect are very, very small. having said that, i do believe that music can influence people. i think it can entice them to think about things they may not necessarily think about doing in their working day, i think that the ideas that music carries forth are the most important thing that we have. i mean, it was ideas that brought down the berlin wall. you know, it's ideas that had, you know, the civil rights grow into existence. it's ideas, always. and i think that music can -- didn't i write "we can change the world"? i didn't mean it in a huge thing but i meant it in a small way. but we can. we can change the world with music. i don't doubt it. i've had many vietnam veterans

come up to me and say our music saved their lives. they were in the middle of the skrung he wi jungle trying to figure out how to stay alive the next ten minutes and we would be playing music. in the late '60s, they were mainly playing our music. to realize once you drop a pebble into a pond and the ripples spread out towards the bank, it's when the ripples start to come back to where you threw the pebble in that it's most interesting. and to hear vietnam vets talk to me about how our music affected their lives and kept them alive is incredibly gratifying as a musici musician. >> as a musician looking at what was happening in the 1960s, you were with the hollys, you came here after you leave the hollys. what were you thinking about the syl righ civil rights movement?

what was going through your mind when you read about the march on washington in '63? how did you take it? >> i've always rooted for the underdog. i've always had a sense of what was fair. i think being english is very different than being american from this point of view. when i was born, world war ii still had several years to go. and it was a part of your daily truth that you did not know whether your house was going to be there tomorrow. you didn't know whether your friends were going to be alive. and i think that when you're brought up in that kind of environment, you have a very different attitude towards, well, what we're doing in america now with all these preemptive wars. god forbid, had new york or los angeles or chicago or austin been bombed like england and

europe was bombed and almost bombed out of existence, i think you have a different attitude towards war. war is insane, as we all know. [applause] >> there has to be a better way of dealing with our fellow human beings than immediately going for your gun. i do realize that in many ways this is the wild west, you know. but to me, people like the nra and the pharmaceutical industry and the tobacco industry, they're all going to be seen as major criminals within 50 to 100 years. i really believe so. how can you in all honesty make a product like cigarettes that kills about 300,000 people a year and still do it, knowing

full well that what you're making kills 300,000 people a year? how do you sleep at night? really, seriously. i mean, how do the koch brothers sleep at night? one of the things that upsets me greatly about this being able to buy our democracy, and in many cases you can buy a congressman or a senator for the price of a decent car, which is a terrible thing to say, but there is so much corruption going on in every country in the world, not just here. i often wonder, don't the koch brothers have children? and when i say the koch brothers, i don't just mean those two brothers, i mean their ilk, their 1% as we were trying to buy out democracy. i definitely have views about citizens united. i think it's one of the worst supreme court rulings in history to me. and i think that we should all

fight very hard to overcome citizens united, and allowing this kind of money into politics is just -- it's awful. it's truly awful that you can buy your democracy. and that's what people like the koch brothers are doing. but don't they have kids? don't they have like parts of their organization that are looking into the future, how much oil is left, how much, you know, aluminum is left? don't they know what's going on? don't they know what they're doing? it's very interesting. how do they sleep at night? >> you brought up environment, and you were involved along with david and steven and neil and lots of your friends in the nukes movement in the 1970s, which really had a profound effect on changing young people, or maybe not changing but at

least enlightening what that would entail. and we talked about your interests in the environment and climate. you live in a great part of america in hawaii where you see the absolute beauty, natural beauty of this country, particularly that state, and you've done things and you continue to do things. where does that urgency come from, and how do you put it into the music? it's been a long time since you started this. nearly 50 years ago. >> i often wonder where i get the energy from to do all this, and the only thing that i can really say is i look at the world through the eyes of my children. i personally have to make it better for me, and i have to make it better for my wife, and i have to make the world better for my kids. my first-born son, jackson, a year and a half ago gave us our first grandchild, and you better watch out for this woman because she's a kickass.

i know every grandfather says the same thing, but she's a stunning woman. and my second-born son will, just in the last month found out him and his wife shannon are expecting identical twin boys in july. so i look at the world through the eyes of the future generation. and i've seen this planet environmentally getting much worse, and i've seen the world getting much worse. the reason why i'm in hawaii was in the late '60s, i used to live in san francisco, and i saw a billboard that said "shower with a friend because we're running out of water." okay, funny, right? big billboard, that's funny. but when you project as to what was going on, when you saw what was happening to the columbia river, when you saw what was happening with damming up our

major rivers, when we saw particularly northern california sending all their water down to this desert called los angeles, i began to realize that if i was going to get married and have children, i wanted to live in a place where, to as much a degree as i could manage it, where water wouldn't be a problem. one and a half waters from my house is the wettest spa on earth. our average rainfall is 46 inches a year. the record, 690. i don't think water will be a problem for me, but it is going to be a problem for a lot of people and very soon. i predict oil is going to be worth far less than water. yes, the entire world runs on oil and we're going to have to deal with that problem, and it seems that many bright people are working on solutions for that. but this problem with water is

going to really be humongous, i'm afraid. >> you speak about these issues that particularly young people, your chirldren, your grand chi h grandchildren, my grandchildren face. it worked to galvanize a whole generation of young people to get out in the streets and pay attention to what was going on. you would think, in my opinion, that today the issues, or in some cases are even far more dangerous than they were in the 1960s. there are still civil rights movements to fight, gay rights were spoken about earlier today being at the forefront, climate change being what it is. these are things that will seriously impact not just our kids but the entire world. >> uh-huh. >> why is it, in your opinion, that there has not been a

movement among younger musicians to be what you did and what so many of your colleagues did in the '60s which is to write about it, to use the music to galvanize the masses, to get our government or our leaders to move on this in a way that brings results? >> a couple things are going on here. first of all, and i'm sure it precedes the romans, but they were credited with circuses, where you give the people a little to eat and you give them something to watch and we'll be able to control them. and that's exactly what's going on today. i think the people that own the world's media you can count on two hands, they don't want protest songs on their airwaves, they don't want it on the radio, they don't want it on the tv. they want you to lie down, be chic, don't say anything, buy another pair of sneakers, buy another soda, and leave us alone while we rob you. that's what's going on today. on a very, very subtle level and

sometimes not so subtle. there are many protest songs still being written. if you go to neal young's website living with war, you'll see about 3,000 of them. but the people that control the media don't want to hear any of that. it used to be that most of the societal changes came from universities, especially the sarbonne in paris and berkeley in northern california and london to a certain extent. we have trained our kids to be doing this. that's all they do all day. and it's great for them. but it's not really a part of the real world about what's going on. we have distracted ourselves from the importance of what's really going on. we are much more interested in justin bieber's monkey and the size of kim kardashian's ass than we are in afghanistan, in

yemen, in somalia, in iraq. on the surface of things, we don't stand a chance. but i can't believe that. i have to believe that there is hope. i have to believe that the upcoming generations will see through all this buying of democracy, will see through the neocons always going for their gun first. i think the kids today are smart, i think that they will see through on this, and i think eventually they will find their way of protesting. the way i was brought up is to speak my mind through music. and that's what i'll continue to do as long as i'm on this side of the grass. let me respeak myself.

>> the idea that crosby, stills & nash, crosby, stills, nash & young, you've had different combinations, but there's always been great harmonies of songs that moved us, made us thicnk a little more. you're 72 years old, as you said, and clearly you've had a long career. what's next with the relevance of the songs you perform and music you continue to write speaks not just to our generation but to younger generations as well? >> i've never planned my life. i've only reacted to what was going on in front of me. my mother and father told me when i was a young child that i was a decent person and that if i followed my heart and my

conscience, i would be okay. and it's very true. i mean, we have choices, right? which way do you choose? do you choose the one that makes you feel good, that makes everybody around you feel okay, or do you follow this other path of greed and violence. we have a choice. and i choose the positive side. i've always been -- i don't think i changed as a person since i was born. i've always been this person. i've always had a need to shout my mouth off for some reason. i've always championed the underdog, i've always been for what i thought was most fair. and i'll continue to do that. i don't see any other way of living. i have about 25 new songs. i'm about to try and figure out some time to go into the studio.

some of the songs are a stretch from, you know, csn, although people want to hear "teach your children," all that, our audience loves that they can hear it that morning. on the latest tour, that's exactly what happened. i sang a song to my beautiful wife and wrote it at 4:00 in the morning. nothing was perfect, as you could hear from me over there on the piano, but it stretches from that to -- when david and steven and neil and i were helping to protest the vietnam war, there was one image that we really truly loved, and that was uof te burning monk, the monk that

burned himself to protest the war. it was on every single newspaper throughout the world because it was horrendous. a man burned himself because of what he believed in? what you don't know, in the last year 108 tibetan monks have burned themselves to death because of what's going on with the chinese government who are trying to obliterate them. you try writing a song about that. but it was so important for us to do it that my friend james raymond, who is our keyboard player in the band who happens to be david's son, a brilliant writer, james and i wrote a song called "burning for the buddha." so once again, my emotions are running from a deep love for someone i spent the last 30-odd years in my life and have many children with to what's happening today in the news. it will continue to be that way for me. i wake up in the morning, i take my first breath, i'm glad to be alive and i get on with my day.

and my days are very interesting. >> if you don't believe him, you could read his book because you have written a wonderful memoir that has an interesting photo on the cover, if i'm not mistaken. it's you with a camera around your neck. because if there's another thing that you love as much as music, i think it's photography. so talk a little bit as we begin to wind down here, talk a little bit about your love of photography and how that related to music in your life. >> i was 10 years old. we were a very poor family. my father worked very hard, but on the weekends when he wasn't working, one of the main joys in his life, he bought a camera from a friend of his at work. he would take pictures of me and my sister -- i only had one sister at that point -- at the local zoo. elephants, giraffes, all that

kind of stuff. when i was 10 years old, we lived in a house called two up, two down, which was two rooms downstairs and two small rooms upstairs. but he would take the blanket on my bed and put it against the window to block out the light, and he would prepare photographs. and i remember this one particular day i was with him. we had been to the zoo earlier that day. he put this kind of negative thing and this enlarger thing and shine touchdown od it on a bright paper, and he said, wait. i'm waiting and waiting. 45 seconds to a 10-year-old is like centuries, but instantly this image came floating out of nowhere. it was a piece of magic i'll never, ever forget. in my book "eye to eye" which is a book i have of my photographs, the first portrait is a portrait i took of my mother when i was

11. so i've been a photographer longer than i've been a musician, and i've always been a very visual person. and i, you know, i'm this insanely lucky man. i can't tell you how lucky i am. i'm from northern england. what the hell am i doing in austin, texas talking to you guys? it's been an insane life and it's shown no signs of stopping. no sign whatsoever. like i said, 25 new songs. but you know what? that's terrifying to a writer to have 25 finished songs that you've written inside. songs aren't done, finished until they're out on whatever it is. it used to be 78s and 45s, vinyl, now it's digital, whatever that format is. songs can't leave my soul until they're out there and you're

listening to them. so right now you're looking at a very tormented man who has songs that are all going, please, please! >> well, graham, we hope that we get to hear those songs, and we appreciate all the music that you've given us over the years. i'm sure i speak on behalf of the audience here that we've appreciated everything that you and crosby, stills & nash and young and all your colleagues have given us. it's been a wonderful musical trip. and i hope, we hope, that you continue to write as well. >> should i play you my latest song that i wrote? >> you got it. [applause] >> let me see here. we have to change this.

i'm a very simple man and i'm totally serious about that. i'm not a clever musician. i hardly know anything about the piano or the guitar, but i know what i need to say. and this song is for you all. this is the one i finished at 4:30 in the morning and sang that night. it's called "here for you." ♪ i'm here for you ♪ just look at what we've been through together all these years ♪ ♪ i'm here for you ♪ through all the laughter and

through all the tears ♪ ♪ i'm by your side ♪ through thick and thin ♪ we will always be friends ♪ i'm by your side ♪ holding on till the very end ♪ day to day i think about our life together ♪ ♪ with the children and a future that's been born ♪ ♪ and it would break my heart if we were not together ♪ ♪ knowing we'll go on and on

♪ i'm here for you ♪ all the memories let past ♪ i'm here for you ♪ a love we shared is a love that lasts ♪ ♪ i'm here for you [ applause ] >> thank you. >> graham nash. [ applause ]

our special american history programming in prime time continues tonight with programs from our archival film series, real america, beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern with a nasa documentary with a mission to land man on the moon on july 20th. at 8:30, a film on the colorado river and construction of the hoover dam. after that, a 1960 nbc interview with herbert huber and his life before and after the presidency. a film featuring an adviser in vietnam in 1963. american history tv is here on c-span 3. up next, the smithsonian's national museum of history commemorates flag day and the

200th anniversary of the star spang led banner. the program ends with a nationwide singing of the national anthem. >> how is everybody doing here. i want to welcome you to the national museum of natural history. my name is xavier. today, we are celebrating our national and international flag day sing along for the 200th anniversary of the star spangled banner. that's right. 200 years ago this year, francis scott wrote the words to a poem. they wrote the national anthem, the star spangled banner. we restore through collections, research and outreach.

we help people understand the past to better make sense of the present and shape a more humane future. we hope our program will do that bringing the nation together around the national anthem. by the way, we are not just bringing people here in washington, d.c. on the national mall, but all over the country and indeed, world. i would like to send a special welcome to the audience on espn 3. thinking of bringing people together, the opening conductor is known for bringing singers from all over the world with his infamous choir projects. join me in thanking grammy winning composer, mr. eric whittaker. [ applause ] also, let me introduce you all

to the choir. they are great. i had a lot of fun with them earlier today at rehearsal. they are organized by the performing arts and classical movements. 400 voices from 45 states age 9 to 81. let's give them a hand. [ applause ] we would like to thank our men and women from the united states ayres. we have the band and sergeants with us today. they are not all performing. much of it being run behind the scenes is done by men and women of the united states air force. please, recognize them with a hand. also, we would like to thank the national parks service.

without them, we wouldn't have this mall. also at park service sites across the country, folks are watching us online. please recognize them. and you are in for really good performances today. many of them made possible by our friends at wool and tusk management. give them a big hand. [ applause ] >> all right. now to help us kick off this event, i would like to welcome our esteemed first speaker. please welcome the 12th secretary of the smithsonian institution, dr. wayne plouffe. clough. >> good afternoon.

>> good afternoon. great day. enjoying it? welcome to the smithsonian national museum of american history, your museum. thank you for all coming to help us celebrate the grand 200th anniversary of one of our nation's most iconic objects, the star-spangled banner. today, on flag day, we celebrate in word, song and performance. today we lift every voice and sing. i want to thank the many talented performers who are here with us today, especially this gifted choir behind me composed of singers from sea to shining sea. let's give them a hand. [ applause ] thanks also the u.s. air force concert band who represent our brave men and women serving around the world. give them applause. [ applause ] many thanks to our undersecretary for history arts and culture richard juran,

deputy director of this museum and all my colleagues participating to help us organize this wonderful event. thanks go to our friends and supporters, friends at the national park service, john f. kennedy center for the performing arts, wool and tusk, classical movements who worked so hard with us to make this day special for all of us. the star-spangled banner was born in baltimore. we are honored to welcome the former mayor of baltimore and current governor of the great state of maryland, the honorable martin o'malley. he'll be speaking shortly. as well as the director of the maryland historical society. we thank both of them for the loan of the francis scott key's original manuscript displayed today here with the flag for the first time in our history. opera singer renee fleming's gown worn when she sang the national anthem during the 2014 super bowl is also on display. we thank renee.

every day, millions of flags fly in big cities and small towns like the one where i came from all across our nation. they hang on front porches and store fronts, schools, military bases, museums, cities, state and federal buildings. small children carry them in big parades. i even have a flag that was carried in outer space by a friend of mine who was an astronaut. our military men and women carry them into battle. they mark the graves of the fallen at arlington national cemetery, gettysburg and the american cemetery in normandy, france. we salute our flag and what it means. we salute those who defend it and those who live up to it. everything those flags stand for everywhere is symbolized by one flag here, and that is the star-spangled banner. it is here, but we at the smithsonian don't own it. you own it, the american people. we take care of it and we have for more than a century.

we preserve it and display it for the american people, and visitors from around the world who seek to understand our country, our culture and its great history. as one of our curators here once said, there is an accurate perception that we are forever, that we will care for an object eternally. this is a sacred trust we at the smithsonian take seriously because we owe it to the american people. we tell america's stories, stories of courage, of struggle, sacrifice and triumph. our scholars and experts will use the latest technology and techniques to keep this flag alive for generations to come. so your children and your children's children can learn from the lessons it teaches all of us. you can see it here today. you can visit any time online. please do. it's your flag. it's part of the history and fabric of our country. for even more information on this important time in our

history, please explore our online exhibition from our national portrait gallery, 1812 the nation emerges. tonight at 9:00 p.m. on the smithsonian channel, don't miss out on the star-spangled story, battle for america, with insights from curators from this museum. historian david mccullough once wrote history teaches us what we stand for, what we ought to be willing to stand up for. history is or should be the bedrock of patriotism, not the chest pounding kind of patriotism but the real thing, love of country. his words stand the test of time. thank you for being with us today and enjoy. [ applause ] thank you very much, mr. secretary. thanks to the work of secretary

clough and many others, the smithsonian is using this opportunity, this wonderful flag day celebration, to bring the nation together. there are a lot of people helping us out with this celebration including 115 national partners, such as aarp, capital girl scout council, veterans of foreign wars, there really are too many others to name. in 30 states and two countries hosting 86 watch parties. many of these watch parties are hosted also by some of our 200 smithsonian institution affiliates. added to tharks at 600 macy's stores around the country, people will be joining us to sing along. that means from many sumner, washington, the home of the rhubarb pie, to iraq, there could be folks all around the globe singing with us today at 4:00 p.m. we want to thank all of them for joining us. i hope you guys are ready. are you?

are you tired of hearing me talk? i think that's what you are really saying to me. i think it's time for another performance. i'd like to do that by welcoming again our choir and also welcoming the united states air force band and singing sergeants to perform the battle hymn of the republic, commanded and conducted by colonel henry h. lang. [ applause ] ♪ ♪

♪ mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord ♪ ♪ he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored ♪ ♪ he hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword ♪ ♪ his truth is marching on ♪ i have seen him in the watch fires of 100 circling camps ♪ ♪ they have builded him an altar in the evening dews and damps ♪

♪ in the beauty of the lilies christ was born across the sea ♪ ♪ glory glory hallelujah glory glory hallelujah glory glory hallelujah ♪ marching on ♪ glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ glory glory hall hallelujah ♪

♪ ♪ in the beauty of the lilies christ was born across the sea ♪ ♪ with the glory in his bosom that transfigured you and me ♪ ♪ as he died to make men holy let us live to make men free ♪ my god is marching on ♪ ♪ glory glory hallelujah glory glory hallelujah ♪ ♪ glory glory hallelujah ♪ my god is marching on ♪

♪ ♪ my god is marching on ♪ glory, glory hallelujah ♪ glory, glory hallelujah ♪ glory glory hallelujah ♪ my god is marching on

♪ glory, glory hallelujah ♪ glory glory hallelujah ♪ glory, glory hallelujah ♪ my god is marching on [ applause ]

>> that was great, everyone. thanks a lot. much like julio wardhouse words in the "battle hymn," the star-spangled banner inspires us all. we want to join in that inspiration having the star-spangled banner to inspire us in something and you take a turn joining in that inspiration, as well. there are people watching us all over the country, all over the world. there are a lot of you here watching under the sound of my voice. many of you are going to be taking lots of pictures and taking lots of video of this event and of your various watch parties. what we'd like you to do is share those photos and videos with us online. while there, you can check out our interactive banner yet waves timeline. it features artists like aloe black, train, angie johnson and all of these artists have worked

with us at the smithsonian to craft their own special version of the star-spangled banner in celebration of this great occasion. it's really nice. i've seen lots of those videos. please make sure you check it out. it's easy to do. all the instructions and information you need is on our website, anthemforamerica .smithsonian. com. speaking of the wonderful artists in our timeline, many come from longstanding traditions in american music. our next performer fits with that position. she is part of the historic legacy of the carter family. she has the bloodline of legends such as mother maybelle carter and june carter cash. after nearly a century of their first recordings, she makes sure that that circle remains unbroken. so please welcome recording artist carline carter. >> thank you. hi.

this is a little song about what it was like for me growing up as a little girl and traveling around with mother maybelle and the singing carter sisters. my little story. ♪ in my grandma's house her children would sing ♪ ♪ guitars a-twanging and laughter ringing ♪ ♪ i was little but i was the biggest kid ♪ ♪ i wanted to do what the grown-ups did ♪ ♪ in a big shiny car we'd head down the road ♪ ♪ sing for the miners who brought out the coal ♪ ♪ at times slept on the floor boards cold ♪

♪ on a quilt my little sister the wildwood rose ♪ ♪ and if i could change a thing in this world ♪ ♪ i'd go back to the days with grandma in her curls ♪ ♪ singing sweet and low ♪ and the wildwood rose ♪ we'd be way down the road by the break of dawn ♪ ♪ biscuits and gravy and a truck stop song ♪ ♪ in a world all fine ♪ i saw what i saw ♪ in the rear view mirror ♪ i'd get a wink from my grandma ♪ ♪ if i could change a thing in

this world ♪ ♪ i'd go back to the days of grandma in her curls ♪ ♪ singing sweet and low for me and the wildwood rose ♪ ♪ a lay a o a lee a o o lay dee who a lee o lay dee ♪ ♪ oh i'll always remember the day that she died ♪ ♪ my daddy he called me and he started to cry ♪

♪ i rode on an airplane with all of my pain ♪ ♪ my tears would not stop ♪ we stood in a circle and sang ♪ ♪ will the circle be unbroken by and by, lord, by and by ♪ there's a better on the way in the sky, lord, in the sky ♪ ♪ will the circle be broken by and by, by and by ♪ ♪ there's a a better on the way in the sky, lord, in the sky ♪ ♪ in the sky lord in the sky

>> thank you, all. it was an honor to be here. let's have a great flag day. whoo-hoo! [ applause ] ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ tis a gift to be simple tis a gift to be sweet ♪ ♪ tis a gift to come down where we ought to be ♪ ♪ when we find ourselves in the place just right it will be in the valley of love and delight ♪

♪ where true simplicity is gained to bow and to bend we shant be ashamed ♪ ♪ to turn, turn will be our divide, turning, turning we come round round ♪ ♪ tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free tis a gift to come down where we ought to be ♪ ♪ where we fund ourselves in a place just right we'll be in the valley in love and delight ♪ ♪ when simplicity is gained we shant be ashamed ♪

♪ it shall be a delight we come round round ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ tis the gift to be simple and the gift to be free ♪ ♪ tis the gift to come down where we ought to be ♪ ♪ and when we find ourselves in the place just right ♪ ♪ twill be in the valley of love and delight ♪

♪ we shant be ashamed ♪ to turn, turn will be our delight ♪ ♪ till by turning, turning we come round right ♪ ♪ [ applause ] >> we want to thank the united states air force band and singing sergeants for that special arrangement of the

shaker tune simple gifts featuring master sergeant emily wellington. let's give them and her a hand. [ applause ] now, for those of you here in washington, if you're out on the mall, you might see, and probably have already seen, some of our many volunteers who are working together to help give people information, get them where they need to go, direct them to the opening of the museum where you can go in. and i really want to recognize them for coming forward and helping us with this the wonderful event. can you please give them a big hand. [ applause ] the easy way to find them is they have the words raised in stylized version of the 15 star and stripes flag on their shirts. that was done for us by the martin agency. i would like to recognize them

as well and their president john adams, who is also a member of the board here at the national museum of american history. so let's give them a hand as well. [ applause ] here at the national museum of american history, we are the stewards of america's history. 6 and also of the star spangled banner flag, which is sometimes known as the great garrison flag. now some of you are looking at me strange. you did hear my words correctly. these flags that are sung about in the star-spangled banner is right inside of this building behind me.ñv there are people as we speak looking at it right now in an exhibition.mú  when we're done, you all can go around to the open entrance, go inside the museum, see all the wonderful collections we have on display. but also see that star spangled banner flag, the flag talked about in our national anthem. when francis scott key saw that

same flag flying 200 years ago, he was inspired to hand write a poem in a manuscript. believe it or not, that manuscript is also on display in this building, inside the national museum of american history. the original 1814 manuscript ofç our national anthem. the stewards of that manuscript are the maryland historical society. i would like to introduce you to the president and ceo of the historical society. he's a singular historian and interpreter and it's largely due to his efforts that the manuscript and the flag have been brought together for the first time in 200 years. as a matter of fact, probably closer to each other than they have ever been before. so please join me in welcoming mr. burt kummerow. [ applause ]

>> how exciting it is to be here among this great american music, particularly the carter family. very exciting. good afternoon, everyone. and this wonderful, glorious day, this flag day. we at the maryland historical society are honored to be sharing our star spangled banner manuscript written by francis scott key on september 16th, 1814. today, as these two american icons, the giant flag and tiny document are joined for the very first time, i have a short story to tell you. no one in baltimore knew what to expect when dawn broke september 14th, 1814. the night had been stormy,

violent, enemy bridge ships, so-called bomb vessels named meteor, volcano, aetna, and devastation, have been lobbying 200-pound exploding bombs at ft. mchenry for 20 hours straight. screaming rockets were lighting up the gloomy darkness. the americans were returning fire from gun batteries lying in the shore. it had been quite a show for baltimore, noisy, terrifying, and hypnotic. every american within range, soldier, or private citizen was watching anxiously from roof and hilltop alike. the future of baltimore and perhaps the young united states republic itself were hanging in the balance. ever since 1812 when the u.s. declared war against the strongest nation, the fast growing port of baltimore and the chesapeake bay community had been prime targets. in the hot, stormy summer of

1814, nightmares came true. the u.s. capitol and the white house went up in flames. the u.s. president fled for his life from the invading red coats, and now it was baltimore's turn. city residents knew that the british would show no quarter if they entered the city. fast baltimore clippers, privateers had been preying on enemy merchant ships throughout the entire war. the city would have been left in ruins if the invaders succeeded. two days earlier, desperate fighting at north point killed a british general, and faced with 15,000 entrenched and determined defenders with 100 cannons, the enemy land attack had already failed. but with ft. mchenry guarding the harbor fall under the fierce naval bombardment. would marines be in streets with burning torches? first light brought curiosity, nerves, and hope.

thousands of eyes peered at the point of land in the distance. suddenly, cheers started swelling up throughout the harbor. the flag was still there. one volunteer summed up the many tears of joy. we were filled with exaltation. at beholding the stars and stripes, still floating in the breeze. another witness watched from the british fleet where he was detained after negotiating the release of prisoners under a flag of truce. francis scott key, a successful 35-year-old lawyer and the new national capital was also a gentleman poet. within two days he put pen to paper vividly describing in four verses the well of emotions everyone felt at this very unlikely victory. set to a popular club song called the defense of fort mchenry, it was picked up by newspapers all over america and became the star spangled banner within a month.

the humble mr. key had a simple explanation for his achievement. in that hour of deliverance and joyful triumph the heart spoke. does not such a country and such defenders of their country deserve a song? that song, forever identified with the giant flag that inspired it, remained popular, especially during public ceremonies. and in 1931, more than a century after the war that inspired it, president herbert hoover signed the bill that made it our national anthem. and today we are celebrating the winding 200-year journey that has brought a tiny piece of paper and giant flag together for the very first time. we celebrate the families of the 1814 defenders that saved these precious icons in their baltimore homes throughout the 19th century. the flag was displayed, hanging on buildings. souvenir pieces were snipped off and shared with honored guests.

the manuscript was displayed in a wall in the the baltimore parlor. we celebrate the institutions in baltimore and washington they have conserved, displayed and interpreted flag and document throughout the 20th century. after more than a century, the flag is still the centerpiece of our national museum devoted to america's memory. at the maryland historical society in baltimore, our document is the focus of an 1812 exhibit that is second to none. and we celebrate mr. key's timeless words, four verses that not only discover that a garrison flag has survived the chaos of battle but also described those stars and stripes as symbols of peace and victory for a new nation that aspires to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. at the start of this busy star spangled maryland summer aimed at bicentennial baltimore in september, the 170-year-old maryland historical society

founded in part by the 1814 defenders themselves, is very proud to share this special moment with the smithsonian, the national capitol, and the entire nation. take time out during the next two weeks. visit two of america's most important icons together for the first time here in the national museum of american history's beautiful flag chamber. you will discover that it is a once in a lifetime experience. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> thank you very much, mr. kummerow. now, i know we have a lot of people joining us all across the nation, all across the world via our webcast. but i want to take just a little moment to say something to the

folks we have here. first off, how many people live in this area? [ cheers and applause ] >> that's all i'm going to get, really? all right. how many people are natives of the washington area? yes, yes. we here in the nation's capital have some of our own regional favorites and local styles. and we certainly appreciate the star spangled banner. we have a bit of a treat for you today because we have a group with local connections. they're from right up the road in potomac, maryland. anybody from potomac? a couple of people. that's great. as a bonus for you, they're actually smithsonian folkways recording label artists. it supports cultural diversity and increased understanding through sound. and i think you will like the sound they make. they have been featured at concerts, television, radio, even on the national mall during

the american roots fourth of july celebration. i know you're going to love them. warner williams and jay summerour are a little bit of blues. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you. all right. nice day. nice day. ♪ ♪ if i don't get well ♪ if i don't get well ♪ i know how i'm going down

♪ i can tell my mama ♪ tell her ♪ write and tell my mama ♪ tell her the shape that i'm in ♪ ♪ tell her pray for me ♪ ask god for give me for my sins ♪ ♪ don't send no doctor ♪ doctor won't do me no good ♪ don't send no doctor ♪ doctor won't do me no good ♪ just pray for me and do everything you should ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ i had my fun ♪ if i don't get well ♪ said i had my fun ♪ if i don't get well no more ♪ might have to bury me because i know i'm going down ♪ ♪ on the next train south look for my clothes ♪

♪ on the next train south look for my clothes bag ♪ ♪ ♪ [ applause ] ♪

♪ ♪ when i get the blues going to get me a rocket ship ♪ ♪ ♪ when i get the blues, gonna get me a rocketship ♪ ♪ gonna rock, rock mama gonna rock away ♪ got the blues so bad it help hurts my tongue to hurt ♪ ♪ got the blues so bad it hurts my tongue to talk ♪ ♪ ♪ got the blues so bad

♪ i love to hear my baby call my name ♪ ♪ i love to hear my baby call my name ♪x?s/q3s ♪ ♪ well, she called me so easy ♪ ♪ well the blues ain't nothing but a poor man feeling bad ♪ ♪ i said the blues ain't nothing but a poor man feeling bad ♪ ♪ the worse feeling that i believe i ever had ♪ ♪

♪ hurry mama bring my lollipop ♪ i said hurry mama and bring my lollipop ♪ ♪ i want to rock with the crock [ applause ] congress is on break this month, we have been showing programs normally seen weekends here on c-span 3 on american history tv. today, we are featuring programs about music. up next, world war i talks ability how world war i changed american music. after that, music as a catalyst for social change. they made the staps and graham

nash discuss it and the role of change in the civil rights movement and beyond. then the hsmithsonian flag day ceremony. this weekend on the c-span networks, tonight on c-span, native american history. then on saturday, live all-day coverage from the book festival science pa vil yan. saturday evening, bbc scotland, a debate on whether to end the political union with england. sunday, q & a with the chief justice of the second court of appeals. he shares his apreach of interpreting laws passed by congress. tonight at 8:00 p.m. in depth with ron paul. saturday, all day live coverage of the book festival from the

history pavilion. speakers, interviews and call ins. afterwards with william burrows talking about his book "the asteroid threat". on c-span 3 tonight, a nasa documentary about the -- the atlanta campaign. sunday night, a look at election laws and supreme court case of bush versus gore. find the schedule at c-span.org. call us at 202-626-3400. twitter, #c123 or e-mail us at comments@c-span.org. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. with live coverage of the

u.s. house on c-span and the senate on c-span 2, we have the public affairs events. on the weekends, cspan3 with program that is tell the nation's story. the civil war's 150th anniversary visiting battlefields and key events and discover what artifacts reveal about america's past. history bookshelf. the best history writers, the presidency, looking at the policies and legacies of the commander and chiefs. lectures and history with top college professors and the new series, real america featuring archival government from the 1930s through '70s. cspan3 created fwi cable tv industry and funded by your local cable or satellite provider. follow us on twitter. 100 years after the

beginning of what was called the great war, author michael lesser looks back at the music of world war i. he demonstrates how songs reflected the experiences of soldiers and those back home from the sweethearts left behind to the soldiers returning to the front. he argued the music industry, including how it contributed using patriotic songs. the event was hosted by president woodrow wilson house in washington, d.c. good evening to all of you. i'm bob, the executive director of the president woodrow wilson house, the historic site. we are a private charity, supported fwi donations of supporters. for that, i thank you and thanks for being here this evening. this home is a home to which president and mrs. wilson moved the day they left the white

house on march 4th, 1921. they lived here the rest of their lives. president wilson passed away three years later. mrs. wilson passed away in 1961 and left the house to the preservation. it was open as a public museum. we are now more than 50 years as a institution here in washington, d.c. it's good to see all of you here tonight. our program is entitled smile while you kiss me sad a due, world war i songs. let me set the stage here and introduce the speaker. we like to remind people president wilson imagined the world at peace and then proposed a plan to achieve that vision. that's a remarkable accomplishment when we think about it from the vantage point of our own lives 100 years later. more remarkable if we transport

back to his time and think about the world in which he lived and the ideas that were brought at that time. the remarkable accomplishment that it was for him in the middle of a world war to imagine what the world ought to look like at peace and to propose that should be our, sort of default position, that there ought to be a league of nations and the nations ought not to engage in aggressive war. this house allows us to take that trip back in time. we are surrounded in this room by gifts of state that president wilson received. one of the reasons he received so many spectacular gifts, frankly, first, because he was the first american president to go to europe while in office. secondly, because the world so hoped for him to succeed in the mission he had taken on of ending the catastrophe that was world war i. i think it's hard for us to think now about how shocking world war i was to the people

who had to live through it. so, the music of that era, like this house, is something that can help transport us back to that time. i think, as you will see this afternoon, hearing from michael that we'll have a sense of the music that existed and the america that existed before the war and the music that reveals to us the america that came out of that war. you will see something of a transformation here. michael lesser is our lecturer, broadcaster, critic and teacher about american music. he's written two books i want to share with you and we have available after his lecture. he's in the process of writing a third. he's the author of "america's songs 2" from the 1890s to the post war years. this is a companion piece to a book he wrote "america songs, the stories behind the songs broadway, hollywood."

so he sort of established himself as a song bird here. i have heard he's not going to sing this evening. those of you who are here for that, sorry to disappoint you. he's working on a book called "the song is us, love lyrics and american life." i'm looking forward to that fourth volume. the hip hop thing he's just an expert on. we'll look forwards to hearing from him this afternoon. he's a graduate of dart mouth college, a professor at rollins college, lectures on music and songs in america for 30 years. with that, michael lesser. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. i'm going to be treating songs as in effect, documents. that is when you listen to a

song from your own time, somehow it's a mirror on that time. it reflects the attitudes of that time. more about love than anything else. attitudes toward love and romance and sex and marriage obviously change over the first half of the 20th century in case you hadn't noticed, take my word for it. songs reflect that. but, for us, 100 years after the songs of world war i, those songs are not a mirror. they serve, instead, as a window and let us look back on what people were thinking and feeling and how they behave. songs are a particularly good way to get at it because they have no aspiration, really, beyond having you like it well enough to buy it. berlin said a good song is one

that sells. he was not simply saying i need more money because he was a multimillionaire when he said it. what he was saying was he trusted the judgments of the people. if you go out and buy my song for whatever it costs, 15 cents sheet music, 79 cents on an old 78 rpm record, it doesn't really matter. if you download it from the internet, you are, in effect, voting with your pocketbook. a good song is one that sells. it's really a democratic, lower case "d." you can make the case the great song writers from the first half of the 20th century were democratic pop lists but they didn't see themselves that way. the irony is they were millionaire democratic pop lists and you don't encounter that often. they never lost their ability to

pick up what was in the air. you know, when they walked down the street, they were listening for a catch phrase, some slang. when they read the newspapers, they were looking for a story that they could turn into a song. so, when war was declared, in 1914, at a time when tin alley came into existence and was flowering, it was blooming. you all know what that was. you're all nodding. tell me then. what was it? notice how the room just changed. what was it? yes, ma'am? >> the neighborhood in a particular block, i think. >> let's look atmore than geography and get at the heart of what it was.

the song writers would gather there. yeah, they did. why? [ inaudible ] >> no, no. it's where the music publishers were. most of the song writers in the early years of the 20th century, the professional song writers, i'm not talking charlie with a guitar and pencil. song writers were under contract to the publishers. they would crank out what the market wanted because they were told to do so. that is the home of music publishing in the united states between roughly, again, you know with when you get into gears in history, it's never useful. roughly, 1895 to 1935.

during the '30ss, the studios bought up the publishers and moved their main offices to anymore. even though tin pan alley still exists, after that, and comes to me to be a generic term for american populous music, in its heyday, it was located in a place just off broadway in the west 20s, and was where the songs came from. by the thousands. these people did not sit around waiting for inspiration. it's a highly overrated gift, when you limit yourself to work produced by inspiration, you end up with a very, very small

bibliography in your name. you make it happen. you force it. some days you fill up waste baskets, occasionally you have a day when you don't. but you work. the coming of the war, even vf÷ though we were determined to stay out of it, and i'm not going to do a whole history of isolationism, because i'm here to talk about songs, not give wñ you a capsule history of world war i, but the coming of the war was a boon to the song business. that is, publishers and song writers did literally look around for markets to appeal to, and then look to a way to appeal to those markets. and with the coming of the war in europe, even though we were determined to stay out of it, there was not surprisingly a wave of patriotism in this country. and that started to produce songs, because patriotism is exactly the kind of clear emotion that something as brief as a song can do something with. remember that most of the songs

i'm talking about, and most of the songs written during what's come to be known as the great american songbook, were 32 bars long. they fit on one side of a 78 rpm record. and if you're old enough to remember those, you know you could get, at most, 3 minutes and 20 seconds of music on a side. and then you flipped it over and had another 3 minutes and 20 seconds. and as a kid, i bought them for 79 cents. i don't know what you paid. and it wasn't until the late '40s that you get the lp, which promises you about 40 minutes of music. but still, if you're listening to a concerto or symphony, you have to flip it to get the whole symphony. when you bought a whole album of a symphony on a 78 rpm, first of all it came with its own wheelbarrow because it was so

heavy. it was like a big book. you put it on the record player and every 12 minutes you had to change it to the next recording. you never heard it whole, but you heard it, and that was the point. with the coming of the war, we started writing songs. and the first songs we wrote were about staying out of the war. you've got more songs on the list than i can ever play. i thought you'd like to see some titles. and on the list of lyrics, you've got more songs, that i'm going to play, because there wouldn't have been time for all of them. most of these songs are available. you can go to itunes or amazon. you can go to the public library. there are collections. i don't have any secret

connections to find these songs. they're out there if you want to hear songs of world war i, you can. are there as many available as there were in world war ii? of course not. the recording business was much more sophisticated, distribution was much more effective, there were many more people making recordings in world war ii. but they were -- by the way, there is one song on the list i want to point out to you, apropos if nothing, because it's a good story. under 1918, you will see a song called "smile and show your dimple." by irving berlin. who sometimes i think wrote every song. and the others are just -- and the other people like george gershwin and porter are just pseudo-berlins. does anybody happen to know the song "smile and show your dimple"? don't sing it. no, no, i didn't mean that, i mean, i want to surprise them.

he published it. it did not do well. he pulled it and put it back in his trunk. songwriters do that. they never throw anything away. at least these song writers never threw anything away. the song became "blue moon" four different times before it finally took. they never give up on a song. that doesn't mean they all succeed eventually, but sometimes they do. so berlin told the song. and then in 1932, he was trying to write an act one finale for a show called "as thousands cheer," a review, a political review, during the depression. they couldn't come up with a song. and he remembered this song from world war i. and he pulled it, and he listened to it. and he said, yeah, that will do. and he wrote a new lyric for it. would you like to sing with me? ♪ in your easter bonnet ♪ smile and show your dimple

♪ you'll find it's very simple ♪ it's about a young woman who has kissed her dough boy good-bye. she's standing on the train platform crying. someone older sees her and tries to comfort her, smile and show your dimple. buck up, he's coming home. and we're going to go beat the kaiser, that sort of thing. anyway, i thought you would like to know that. apropos. isn't that a neat story? the first song to become a hit in world war i, and by the way, it is thought to be our most musical war. more songs in response to the war than any other war in american history. again, because tin pan alley was so explosively productive. there was a young woman who wrote a song, and there were a number of songs like this, i'm not going to play this one, i'm just going to mention it, because the only recording i can

find was so bad in quality, you wouldn't have been able to get the words. but i did include the words for you. it's called, the very first one -- yeah -- no, it's the second one, "we take our hats off to you mr. wilson," written by blanche merrill who was a teenager when she wrote it. she went on to become a professional songwriter, known for writing specialty material for fannie bryce in the zigfield follies. the songs at the beginning of the war are clearly about not getting in. but they become much more personal than that. you know, we take our hats off to you, mr. wilson, is a kind of generalized salute. it's the kind of thing a group marches down the street singing. and popular songs now had to do that. but popular songs are mainly

good at the emotionalism that exists between two people. in all of the history of popular music in this country, probably 98% of the songs have two characters in them. i, and you. and then it's about what's going on, or not between us. so a more typical song is when you start getting into the intense personal emotions. now, in world war -- i'm sorry, in the civil war, young men going off to war, never having been away from home before, and very young. and it was a much less sophisticated country. a lot of them farm boys. a lot of them immigrants. an awful lot of the union army spoke with an irish accent during the civil war. they did fight a good part of that war for the north. the songs of the civil war that

were in effect love songs, were about a boy and his mother. there were very few that were stories of romantic love. about how much i miss you, and i'll come home to you. or she's home saying, i'll be faithful. very few of those. there are some sentimental ballads like aura lee, and in the north, and lorina in the south. which are songs of praise for an idealized woman. but that's as close as you come to it. in the civil war, they're mainly about mom. and junior is writing a letter home to his mother, that sort of thing. one of the best of them is a song called "just before the battle mother," which is a lovely song. during world war ii, shall jump,

there are a few mother songs, mothers proud that you're in uniform, sonny, that sort of thing, that unfortunately has not survived. the songs are -- the love songs of the war are largely about a couple, whether married or no separated. so the emotions of warfare, in song, are -- in the love songs, and you'll see this a little bit later, are about separation, parting, loneliness, longing, the hope of return. you find those in the love songs of world war i, and you find them in the love songs of world war ii. and those three wars, civil, i and ii, are really the wars where there is a large body of songs, because there was a accepts of the nation engaged, that there was not certainly in the wars since world war ii. there aren't a lot of songs