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Cathy Wurzer
St. Paul, Minn.

God Bless America started as a prayer for peace

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Today's music comes from 75 years ago today when, on March 21, 1939, Kate Smith recorded her signature song "God Bless America."

It included a now rarely-heard introduction that referenced the growing threat of Adolph Hitler in Europe. "God Bless America" was written by Irving Berlin in 1918 while he was in the Army.

In 1938 in response to Hitler's aggression, he revived it as a peace song. It is thought that he borrowed the melody for the refrain from a 1906 novelty song called "When Mose With His Nose Leads the Band."