Lyr Req: Famous Aviators

Subject: Famous Aviators
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 02:57 AM

In a year (or so) I'm planning to produce a stage version of a period radio broadcast in Australia, circa 1937 to 1942 with contemporary news, current affairs, radio play and live music up until that time.

One of the sub themes that I'm exploring is music commemorating the great aviators of that period (mainly late 1920's).

There are three songs in the DT that I'm aware of:

Amelia Earhart's Last Flight - Joe Offer contributed the tune in the Forum Lucky Lindy Lindberg, Eagle of the USA - I've just located tunes for the 2 lindberg songs and will post soon. In my opinion both ripper tunes, particularly Eagle of the USA. You can easily tell what they plagiarised (sorry were influenced by) for Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.

I now have the scores for:

Hustling Hinkler (re Bert Hinkler, Australia) Our Heroes Of The Air (re Kingsford Smith, Hinkler, Scott and Amy Johnson) This song claims all the glory as 'British Airmen'.

There is a separate well known piece about Amy Johnston, the name of which I can't recall, but will be reasonably easy to source.

I would appreciate any further information or views please. I don't expect to depart too far from the main stream in the radio stage performances, but interesting new material can lead you in all sorts of unexpected directions.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Dale Rose
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 03:19 AM

John, I have two recordings of Amelia Earhart's Last Flight, one by The Country Gentlemen, and a somewhat lesser known version by Rosie's Bar and Grill. I also have Lucky Lindy and The Eagle of the USA by Vernon Dalhart. Let me know if you want them. No doubt I have more aviation songs that I am not thinking of at the moment.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: GUEST,Wolfgang
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 03:22 AM

John,
there's a beautiful recent German song about Otto Lilienthal (and his death in a flying/gliding attempt). That's from the pre-motored flight period in about 1870/80. From today's perspective you might say he has invented an early hang-glider. Too far away or should I search for more information?

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 07:48 AM

Dale and Wolfgang, thanks for the suggestions. I'd be pleased to get any material that may represent the period. To that end a copy of the recordings would help to get the arrangements as close as possible. I don't intend to be a stickler for authenticity as long as the music is not too obviously anachronistic. All the music will be played live in the 'studio' including any station promos or product jingles.

In effect my aim is to produce a themed concert with strong emphasis on singing (about 100 voices with opportunities for solos and smaller sized feature ensembles). The spoken word will act as a bridge between musical pieces - I guess it's much the same as some radio today, without the talk-back.

Apart from this thread I can be contacted via PM or at [e-mail].

Best wishes, John

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: GUEST,Wolfgang
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 08:07 AM

As a start, here are the (German) lyrics to 'Lilienthals Traum' (Lilienthals dream) by Reinhard Mey.
And here is a song I have posted about one of the most famous European pilots from the 1930s, Antoine de Saint-Éxupéry.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Stewart
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 11:48 AM

There's a great song "Upside Down" by Linda Allen (Bellingham, WA) on her Washington Notebook CD CLICK based on a Wenatchee Museum exhibit and newspaper editor Will Wood's recollections of barnstormer Clyde Pangborn, and his daredevil performances and near escapes with death. In 1931 he made the first non-stop transpacific flight from Japan to Washington State.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: kendall
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 04:26 PM

You say mostly late 20's ? Earhart went down in the late 30's. 37 or 38. How about THERES A STAR SPANGLED BANNER WAVING SOMEWHERE? It mentions Colin Kelly who crashed his plane into a German plane on purpose because he ran out of ammo or something?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: mousethief
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 04:40 PM

You might want to look at these songs by Al Stewart:

Flying Sorcery (about Amy Johnson, an English woman aviation pioneer -- from the easy-to-obtain "Year of the Cat" album)

Lindy Comes to Town (about Lindenburgh -- from the out-of-print "Between the Wars" album).

Alex
O..O
=o=

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: MMario
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 05:05 PM

insert (bad) DickG impression here Lyrics? tunes? tunes? lyrics? there's this little thing called the Digital Tradition? POST d*mnit!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: mousethief
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 05:12 PM

Not if you're going to swear at me! Sheesh!

Alex
O..O
=o=

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: MMario
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 05:24 PM

hey! I edited it!

my apologies for any offense...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Susan of DT
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 05:59 PM

a search for @airplane gets 53 hits, not all of them historical. I'm sure dick would love these additional ones you have suggested, since he sings several air songs.

Subject: Lyr Add: FLYING SORCERY (Al Stewart)
From: mousethief
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 06:09 PM

Okay, here's Flying Sorcery

FLYING SORCERY
by Al Stewart

With your photographs of Kitty Hawk
And the biplanes on your wall
You were always Amy Johnson
From the time that you were small.
No schoolroom kept you grounded
While your thoughts could get away
You were taking off in Tiger Moths
Your wings against the brush-strokes of the day
Are you there?
On the tarmac with the winter in your hair
By the empty hangar doors you stop and stare
Leave the oil-drums behind you, they won't care
Oh, are you there?

Oh, you wrapped me up in a leather coat
And you took me for a ride
We were drifting with the tail-wind
When the runway came in sight
The clouds came up to gather us
And the cockpit turned to white
When I looked the sky was empty
I suppose you never saw the landing-lights
Are you there?
In your jacket with the grease-stain and the tear
Caught up in the slipstream of the dare
The compass roads will guide you anywhere,
Oh, are you there?

The sun comes up on Icarus as the night-birds sail away
And lights the maps and diagrams
That Leonardo makes
You can see Faith, Hope and Charity
As they bank above the fields
You can join the flying circus
You can touch the morning air against your wheels
Are you there?
Do you have a thought for me that you can share?
Oh I never thought you'd take me unawares
Just call me if you ever need repairs
Oh, are you there?

---------------

Some comments on this song by Charlie Hulme (an A.S. fan):

Amy Johnson was a British pilot who made an epic solo flight to Australia in 1930. My mother, born in 1912, has often talked of the admiration of the working-class girls of the day for Amy and her flying escape from the hard life of the depression, which makes me wonder whether this is a song for Al's own mother, who I think is a little younger than mine and would have been a schoolgirl in 1930. Certainly Al thinks a lot of the song, as it very often opened his concerts in the late 1990s.

----------------------

Alex
O..O
=o=

Subject: Lyr Add: LINDY COMES TO TOWN (Al Stewart)
From: mousethief
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 06:13 PM

And here's Lindy:

LINDY COMES TO TOWN
by Al Stewart

Lindy flew his plane across the dark Atlantic
Put her down near Paris and the crowds went frantic
They raced across the field, to touch the wings and wheels
And reach inside the cockpit just to see if he was real
Back in New York City people watched and waited
The news came down the wire and they celebrated
And in that time so brief, it was everyone's belief
That the world had grown no bigger than a pocket handkerchief

When Lindy comes to town and all the bands are playing
When Lindy comes to town and all the flags are waving
Mr Coolidge he will say, it's a public holiday
You can see them ride down Wall Street in a tickertape parade
I want to be there in that crown upon that bright, bright morning
And I can tell the world I saw a new day dawning
With my baby by my side in among that human tide
I want to be right there when Lindy comes to town

Every day is better than the one before it
If I see a raincloud then I'll just ignore it
Everbody says it'll get much better yet
It's 1927 and my whole life lies ahead
Gonna get myself a car and find a place to park it
Get a little cash and put it in the market
And on my wedding day I will turn around and say
There never was a better time than this one anyway

When Lindy comes to town and all the bands are playing
When Lindy comes to town and all the flags are waving
Mr Coolidge he will say, it's a public holiday
You can see them ride down Wall Street in a tickertape parade
I want to be there in that crowd upon that bright, bright morning
And I can tell the world I saw a new day dawning
With my baby by my side in among that human tide
I want to be right there when Lindy comes to town

---------------------------

This one should be pretty self-explanatory!

Alex
O..O
=o=

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Lanfranc
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 06:43 PM

And then there's Joni Mitchell's "Amelia", if that doesn't constitute an excess of Earhart.

In the Al Stewart song, the "Faith, Hope and Charity" mentioned were three antique Gloster Gladiator biplanes that served in the defence of Malta in WW2.

Subject: Lyr Add: UPSIDE DOWN (Linda Allen)
From: Stewart
Date: 31 Oct 00 - 07:24 PM

Okay, here's the lyrics of Linda Allen's song (just transcribed).

UPSIDE DOWN
(Linda Allen, WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK)

Well, I was just a kid that day in 1931
When I saw the airplane circlin' in the sky
Those planes were still a wonder, Thunderation! What a thrill
Never understood what made 'em fly.

There came a spurt and sputter and the airplane headed down
We all ran to the field outside of town
I got there tired and breathless just in time to see her dive
I was so scared - I never made a sound,

Chorus:
And it was
Upside Down
Doin' loop the loops and barrel rolls
Upside Down
Flyin' higher than a dream
Upside Down
Walkin' wings to make the young girls scream
Greatest thing our town had ever seen.

Clyde Pangborn was a young sensation seeker, we all knew
A barnstormer with more tricks than a kite
Then a Tokyo paper promised fame and fortune to the first
To make a non-stop transpacific flight.

Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon flew from Samashiro Beach
To save on fuel they dumped the landing wheels
And it took 'em 40 hours in a monoplane to reach
Wenatchee and its tiny landing field.

In their plane they called Miss Veedol in the frozen Northern sky
There was trouble with some dangling rods of steel
So high above Alaska, Pangborn walked the icy wings
And he fixed that plane with hands too cold to feel

I tell you, I was there the day Clyde Pangborn came back home
The plane slid down the field and tipped her nose
Then we saw two grimy pilots walkin', smilin' to the crowd
I yelled so hard it hurt down to my toes.

The Wenatchee (Washington) Museum has a wonderful exhibit on the Pangborn-Herndon flight, which includes their plane's bent propeller. Newspaper editor, Wilf Wood's recolletion of seeing the plane circle overhead as a boy provided additional inspiration. Clyde Pangborn did indeed walk the wings above Alaska to release the rods which could have caused serious damage upon landing. (Linda Allen)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Dale Rose
Date: 01 Nov 00 - 12:03 AM

I have temporarily uploaded the Real Audio of Lindbergh, The Eagle of the USA by Vernon Dalhart, authorship credited to Johnson and Sherman. Lucky Lindy I have only on a 78, which means playing it is a problem since I don't have a player. It could take me a week or more to get it done. The versions of Amelia I can get to by this weekend ~~ both are on LPs.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: GUEST,GENE
Date: 01 Nov 00 - 02:02 AM

I have a recording of:

THE EPIC RIDE OF JOHN GLENN by WALTER BRENNAN

also: 2 songs about the last flight of

WILL ROGERS and WILEY POST

may take a bit to DIG THOSE 2 OUT

Has been a year [maybe 2] since I listened to them

Subject: Lyr Add: SALLY GREEN
From: Jo Taylor
Date: 03 Nov 00 - 06:54 PM

I was just listening to a 1981 recording of the Bartholomew Jug Band doing this:

SALLY GREEN

Your mama stands by the window
She wants to know where you've been
Just tell her I'm your aviator
And kiss me goodnight Sally Green


Ch:Kiss me goodnight Sally Green
I'll leave you in my two-wheeled machine
Kiss me goodnight Sally Green
Till tomorrow you'll be in my dreams...


Just smile and tell me you love me
As I kiss you goodbye
I'll take your photograph with me
As I am flying so high


Ch.
Rpt first verse.
Ch.
Rpt. 2nd verse
Ch.


BJB were a mess of people and instruments who had a wonderful time playing old. new, silly and serious songs. Sorry, just having a touch of nostalgia (yes, I was one of them...) I don't know if the song's well known or not - never heard anyone else doing it. I loved it. The guitarist (my SO) wore a leather flying helmet, goggles and a wired silk scarf and we all made relevant vrooming noises the second time through. If you'd like it or don't know it I can send a recording or attempt an ABC.

Jo Taylor

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Sourdough
Date: 03 Nov 00 - 09:52 PM

Colin Kelly was the first US hero of the second World War. He flew his plane into a Japanese warship. His "kamikaze" attack was widely reported and admired at a time when the US badly needed good news. I think he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and as such his son was appointed to the US Military Academy. In any case, this happened in 1942, after the period of the proposed radio program.

There was a flyer in the Nine Teens who was known to all of the aviators of the Teens, Twenties and Thirties. He was a legend and one of the best known people in the world. Literally millions of people saw him perform things in airplanes that no one else was able to do for a decade later when planes and techniques had improved. He died during a performance at the Pacific Exposition in SF Bay around 1915 and was given the biggest funeral in the citiy's history His name was Scott Beechey and htperhaps someone will know of a vaudeville song done in his honor. There undoubtably was at least one that has survived. His story is very interesting for those that love early aviation.

Sourdough

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: MMario
Date: 16 Nov 00 - 10:05 AM

midi for Lucky Lindy (from John_in_brisbane) sent to Alan.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Hollowfox
Date: 16 Nov 00 - 12:30 PM

Don't forget "Come, Josephine, in my Flying Machine" in DT

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: GUEST,Barbara Shaw (at work)
Date: 16 Nov 00 - 01:03 PM

Not a great aviator, but a hero apparently, was Emilio Carranza. Here's a link to a previous mudcat discussion of a song about him, along with the lyrics:

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.CFM?threadID=22987

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 16 Nov 00 - 08:12 PM

Thank you for all the responses. I've been working away at this in background mode having found quite a few Australian examples (scores) which I'll post here eventually. Many thanks to the Bert Hinkler Air Museum in Bundaberg for thir help.

I've also tracked down the first Dad and Dave serial from 1937 and a few radio jingles of the time, but I still have a long way to go. Many thanks for all the suggestions - aviators/heroes is still a fascinating project in its own right. While it may be infra dig to raise commercial issues in this forum, the market for musical nostalgia (and I mean performances here) is very strong in the (say) 50+ age group.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Roo
Date: 16 Nov 00 - 09:02 PM

There's an Australian song called "From Oakland to Brisbane" about Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, and his three crew members - Charles Ulm, Jim Warner and Harry Lyon when they made their Pacific crossing in 1928in the little plane, "Southern Cross. Don't know if you are interested in this as it isn't a song from the period but rather, of the period. Interestingly though, it was written after reading Kingsford-Smith's book about the flight and was sung by Jim (the writer of the song) to Kingsford-smith's son when he at re-enacted the flight back in the seventies. The Net is a great medium. Not only did Jim get to sing the song to a very hppy son of the great aviator, he also had an email from Jim Warner's son who wanted a recording of the song because he had seen it on Jim's website. What a thrill! Lyrics and sound here I hope I got the clicky thing right!

Subject: Louis Armstrong and Lindy
From: GUEST,John in Brisbane
Date: 18 Nov 00 - 08:38 AM

Heard this arvo on ABC Classical FM that Louis Armstrong's famous song was first sung as 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love Lindy' as a tribute to Lindberg. In trying to track this down on the Web I came acroos references to the Lindy Hop, which formed the basis of jitterbug. I have no idea whether there is any connection with the aviator, but it is clear that, along with a small number of other pioneer flyers of the time, he was an immensely popular hero figure at that time.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Famous Aviators
From: Roo
Date: 18 Nov 00 - 11:27 PM

The Lindy Hop WAS named after Lindenburgh. By the spring of 1927, a new dance at The Savoy in Harlem, was becoming popular - simply called the Hop. "The hop was pioneered by three main characters, George Ganaway, Shorty Snowden and Big Bea, with whom the diminutive Snowden danced a comedy double-act. When the nation's newspapers and newsreels were buzzing with the story of Charles Lindbergh's pioneering solo air flight across the Atlantic, a reporter happened to ask these dancers what their unusual dance was called; apparently drawing inspiration from the news, Snowden replied "The Lindy Hop"." (ref:Swing Dance Scotland site)