Despite recent controversy over the racist lyrics in some of Kate Smith's 1930s-era recordings, the mayor of a New Jersey beach town says his city will continue to play her rendition of 'God Bless America' every day
Despite recent controversy over the racist lyrics in some of Kate Smith's 1930s-era recordings, the mayor of a New Jersey beach town says his city will continue to play her rendition of"God Bless America" every day.
Smith's version of the patriotic tune is one of three songs played at 11 a.m. daily during the busy beach season in Wildwood, New Jersey. Beachgoers on the boardwalk often stop to listen to the National Anthem,"God Bless America" and Wildwood's own anthem,"Wildwood Days" by Bobby Rydell. Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. says the lineup will not change. "This is tradition," he told CNN of the boardwalk music program, saying it dates back 30 or 40 years.
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