Talk:Kate Smith

message: Irving Berlin DID NOT write this song for Kate Smith. According to the entry "God Bless America" on Wikipedia, he wrote it for a revue called Yip Yip Yaphank, a tribute to the U.S. Army during World War I. The year given was circa 1917–1918. He decided not to use it in the revue at that time, substituting "We're on our way to France" instead. He decided to revise and release it in 1938 and chose Kate Smith to introduce it via a radio broadcast on November 11th, 1938 then called, Armistice Day. Kate Smith DID sing "God Bless America" in the 1943 Warner Bros. production of This is the Army.   T.E. Goodwin 06:57, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Irving Berlin

message: This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 15:46, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: WikiProject class rating

message: The article states She sang the controversial top twenty song of 1931, "That's Why Darkies Were Born". It seems unlikely this song was controversial in 1931, it was performed by Paul Robeson and its title used in a joke by Rufus T. Firefly.  I'm inclined to remove the word, and perhaps the entire sentence, since it's something of a non sequitur.  --CliffC (talk) 04:53, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: "Controversial"?

message: I was born in 1930, and when homesick during grade school, every day I listened to Kate Smith, whose talk show was introduced by Ted Collins saying: "It's high noon in New York, and time for Kate Smith."  She was a delight to listen to.  76.1.252.112 (talk) 18:57, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Pleasant Memory

message: This passage of the article is very interesting, but with no references at all. Where does it come from? It would be hard to let such detailed claims stand alone. --Melchior2006 (talk) 12:40, 23 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Dispute with St. Agnes Church concerning her burial

message: This may seem too trivial for the article, but I attended a "Planes of Fame" history event Sat. June 4th, 2011 in Chino, CA and a Maj. Robert Sternfels (Pilot of the B-24 "Sandman" in the operation Tidal Wave / Ploesti Raid) spoke and mentioned a B-24 Liberator bomber was named for Kate Smith. Some internet searches do describe a B-24 liberator as being named in her honor. Bob specifically mentioned that Kate paid for the aircraft -- about $260K in 1943 dollars. My father is a WW-2 vet and he confirmed that several successful and/or wealthy people purchased aircraft or other military equipment to support the war effort. Just thought I'd mention it.71.139.65.209 (talk) 08:11, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Purchase of B-24 Liberator 

message: My elderly aunt claims that Kate Smith was anti-Semitic.  I can't find one single example on the internet.  Does anyone know origin of this rumor or have knowledge of the episode(s)?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ericsilver (talk • contribs) 12:50, 16 September 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: No she wasn't. 98.165.25.234 (talk) 06:18, 24 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Kate Smith Anti-Semitic 

message: The phrase "confined to a wheelchair" is demeaning, offensive, and oppressive, and most of all illogical, and should not be used here. A person is never "confined to a wheelchair": he doesn't shower or sleep in his wheelchair. When he rides a plane he rides in a seat, not his wheelchair. "Confined" is inaccurate and conveys an inaccurate stereotype of inability of wheelchair users to engage in sexual, social, travel and physical pursuits.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Denverjason (talk • contribs) 03:10, 27 September 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Go confine yourself, you disabled fool.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.168.133.49 (talk) 07:52, 18 June 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Factual Errors

message: I went to a Flyers home game a few weeks ago. Lauren Hart did indeed sing, but she sang The Star-Spangled Banner, not God Bless America. So the situation is not as the article describes it. I can't find any info online about when the change happened, and whether they switch back and forth.  I'm inclined to add a 'fact' tag, in the hope that some better-informed editor can resolve this (and add a cite). TypoBoy (talk) 18:12, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Flyers 

message: If the William H. Smith who registered for the World War I draft in Washington, D.C. on September 12, 1918 is in fact her father--his listing of a "Lottie Smith" as his closest contact (with the same address), being a possible nickname for "Charlotte", and "Proprietor of Capitol News Co." matching the occupation at this page--the family lived at 227 "B" Street in N.W. Washington, D.C. (now Constitution Avenue). A public school fairly close at that time would have been William Seaton School located on "I" Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets N.W. (constructed 1871, demolished 1969). He lists his birth date as October 7, 1880 (making him 38 at the time).--Artaxerxes 15:18, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: Father confirmed as one who registered for draft in 1918 in D.C., and she went to Business High School (but does not seem to appear in 1922 yearbook ) according to new source.--Artaxerxes 17:52, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Parents and education 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 2 external links on Kate Smith. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150204080604/http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2012/10/coon-creek-girls-play-white-house.html to http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2012/10/coon-creek-girls-play-white-house.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060812020437/http://drake.org/Stan/ComicsInterviewPart1.html to http://www.drake.org/Stan/ComicsInterviewPart1.html
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 02:18, 7 December 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The article reads:
Her cheery radio sign-on was parodied by comedian Henry Morgan when he launched his own show in 1942: "Good evening, anybody, here's Morgan," which became his sign-on. 
However, the article does not appear to contain her actual sign-on, only Morgan's parody. 
The absence of the original is awkward, and should be remedied.
Karl gregory jones (talk) 20:36, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sign-on needed 

message: One of the sources was apparently a book published by the Kate Smith Foundation, the other was something called The Bookhound. Let's discuss. I'd have objected to the wording used, as it seems to be making the argument that having black musicians on your show says something about whether or not you're a racist, which is at best synthesis, but let's argue sources first. --valereee (talk) 11:47, 24 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: The Kate Smith Foundation is not associated with Kate Smith. There are virtually no sources about Kate Smith that do not come from Kate Smith, her shows or her fans. What sources would you propose?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.164.71.77 (talk) 12:20, 24 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd suggest any book that isn't published by the Kate Smith Foundation, any scholarly work, any major newspaper or magazine, where there is plenty of material; not sure what you mean by no sources that don't come from her, her shows, or her fans? We can't use her, her shows, or her fans as direct sources. Someone else in a reliable source needs to be talking about whatever it is you want to add. I see you've reverted my edit. I'll wait for someone else to come along and chime in, as I don't want to start an edit war. If someone does revert you, please don't re-revert; come here and talk instead. I see you're new here, so you may not know that if you revert three times, you can end up being blocked. The policy on that is at WP:3RR --valereee (talk) 13:06, 24 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Okay, and I see I'm behind...you've already reverted another editor. Please stop editing right now until we hash this out here on the talk page. If you get reverted again and you revert that, you will be at three reverts, which is the threshhold for edit warring. Let's talk here. When we reach consensus, we can edit that section again, but you need to stop directly editing it until then. Please respond. --valereee (talk) 13:20, 24 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: I've reverted, as the IP hasn't come in to discuss these additions. --valereee (talk) 13:16, 25 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm not sure that's entirely a good idea.  It was published by McFarland, which is a notable publisher of academic works.  I agree the current wording is SYNTH (there's no way it could reference the current events), but the source could be used to significantly expand the article.  78.26 (spin me / revolutions) 13:42, 25 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text:  Oh, I'm sure that book and multiple others published by the Kate Smith Foundation would be reliable sources for anything factual about her, definitely agreed. I didn't mean to suggest they couldn't be used for anything! Thank you for that clarification. --valereee (talk) 15:14, 25 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text:  Very weird, the original source was this:  but the most recent citation was  which clearly seems to be referring to the same book, one using the book title and the other using the chapter title? But the dates are different... I'm confused. --valereee (talk) 15:26, 25 April 2019 (UTC)

text:  I don't know.  Perhaps it was published in conjunction with them.  Perhaps it was originally published by the foundation, and then picked up by McFarland because of it's quality.  How about I see if my local library has a copy, and we can 1)figure out how much involvement the Foundation had with the publication of the book 2)if the book says anything about her radio show and the participation of African-Americans therein.  (as opposed to a mere listing of "guest stars".) 78.26 (spin me / revolutions) 15:29, 25 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: lol GMTA...just ordered it from my library. Race is on. :D --valereee (talk) 15:33, 25 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Beat 'ya!    I haven't read the whole book, but the following are obvious to me:  1.  The book has nothing to do with the Kate Smith Foundation.  2.  The book does not address race relations.  3.  The book does not even mention some of the artists listed in the removed text, case in point Maurice Rocco which particularly interested me since I wrote the article.  It doesn't prove he didn't appear on the show, and in all likelihood he did, sine he appeared on numerous radio shows of the era.  78.26 (spin me / revolutions) 16:55, 25 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: hahaha! Mine is at "1 of 1 holds." 1. Good to know it can be used as a reliable source without question. 2. Not surprising. 3. Interesting...I'm guessing there was some synthesis/OR going on, per the original question of whether having black musicians on proved no-racism (any more than singing a now-considered-racist song 85 years ago proves racism). --valereee (talk) 19:55, 26 April 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm guessing the IP is knowledgeable about Smith, and may have worked with the Foundation at some point. Anyway, here's an editorial from a reliable source that gives some reasonable context that perhaps we can use.   78.26 (spin me / revolutions) 03:27, 29 April 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  sources for paragraph refuting racism by saying she'd had black musicians on her shows  

message: I propose moving detail of the Statue of Kate Smith to the standalone page. ---Another Believer (Talk) 16:56, 11 June 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Why? The disgraceful disrespect of removing the statue erected to honor an idol should receive the maximum public shame posible. 98.165.25.234 (talk) 06:23, 24 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Statue of Kate Smith 

message: Please include sister and family 67.82.73.129 (talk) 06:21, 14 January 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  please include sister and family