Behind the Song: Over the River and Through the Woods

The popular children’s song, Over the River and Through the Woods,  was written by Lydia Maria Child as a Thanksgiving poem. The lyrics represented in the song is often associated with cold.  In the early 19th Century, New England winters were colder and had earlier winters than they do in the present day. The poem Read More

Profile of a Performer: George M. Cohan

George M. Cohan was a popular vaudeville and Broadway act. He was born July 3, 1878 in Rhode Island.  He and his parents always insisted he was born on the 4th of July, 1878.   He began performing with his parents and sister at a young age.  Before he was able to walk, he was used Read More

God Bless America

Irving Berlin’s patriotic love song to his adopted homeland was hidden away for over twenty years before being publicly made known. Irving Berlin was a Russian immigrant living in New York City.  Growing up, Berlin often heard his mother say “God Bless America.” Berlin later said about his mother, “without America, her family would have Read More

The Untold Story: The Star Spangeled Banner

    We all know our National Anthem, but do you know how it originated? The author, Francis Scott Key, was at Fort McHenry when the British Royal Navy bombed the fort in 1814. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer, and amateur poet, and John Stuart Skinner were on a mission for President James Madison on Read More

Irving Berlin, He Was American Music

Irving Berlin was born Israel Isidore Baline on May 11, 1888, in Tyumen, Russian Empire.  He was one of eight children born to his parents.  In 1893 his family immigrated and settled in New York City.  By the age of eight, he’d quit school and was selling newspapers.  While selling papers he would hear the Read More