Probably the most famous Fourth of July movie is Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), starring James Cagney as George M. Cohen. It is a spectacular and fun bio-pic about the famous entertainer and songwriter. And Cagney gives one of his greatest performances while also capture much about the sound and dance of the real Cohen.
Cohen famously sang about being “born on the Fourth of July,” although he actually was born on July 3, 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island. As portrayed in the film Yankee Doodle Dandy, Cohen began with his career in vaudeville with his parents and sister in an act known as “The Four Cohans.”
In the early 1900s, he was one of the biggest things on Broadway, creating and producing successful musicals. He wrote many of the classic songs we still hear today like “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Yankee Doddle Boy,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
“Over There”
In Yankee Doodle Dandy, we see Cagney as Cohen creating another one of Cohen’s classic’s, “Over There.” As portrayed in the clip, Cohen wrote the song in 1917 when the United States entered World War I.
If you wonder what the real George M. Cohen danced and sounded like, Cagney gives a good sense in the film. But a surviving movie clip of Cohen shows him singing and dancing in blackface in The Phantom President (1932).
Also, one may hear the real George M. Cohen in the clip below. He is introduced at around the one-minute mark. Then, he sings “Over There.”
“Yankee Doodle Dandy” and Death
Yankee Doodle Dandy was released on May 29, 1942, and the film went on to receive several Academy Awards. Among the awards, Cagney won the Oscar for Best Actor.
Cohen reportedly originally wanted Fred Astaire to play him. But he lived to see Yankee Doodle Dandy released with Cagney in the lead role.
Cohen died on November 5, 1942 not long after the movie’s release. He passed away at the age of 64 at his apartment at 993 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
After Cohen died, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a telegram to Cohen’s wife Agnes Mary Nolan Cohan. In it, he concluded, “He will be mourned by millions whose lives were brightened and whose burdens were eased by his genius as a fun maker and as a dispeller of gloom.”
What better way to be remembered than as a “fun maker” and “dispeller of gloom”?
Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, and check out our previous post on Fourth of July Songs. Photo via public domain. Leave your two cents in the comments.
There are a number of popular songs that reference the Fourth of July and Independence Day. There are songs that take a historical approach to focus on the drafters and signers of the Declaration of Independence as in the play and movie 1776. And there are popular songs about America like the version of “America the Beautiful” by Ray Charles or the song we discussed on Chimesfreedom last year, Paul Simon’s “American Tune.” But there are also a number of songs that refer to the modern version of the holiday without singing about Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, or purple mountains majesty.
Shooter Jennings: “Fourth of July”
Shooter Jennings, son of the great Waylon Jennings, recorded an excellent song about the holiday in “Fourth of July” off his debut album, Put the O Back in Country (2005). Although the song does not mention the Declaration of Independence or our Founding Fathers, it evokes the Fourth of July that is more familiar to Americans today of having a nice holiday.
Unlike many of the other Fourth of July patriotic songs, Shooter Jennings’s song is completely about the holiday. And it is a fun song. A live version is here.
“Independence Day”
There are two excellent songs titled “Independence Day” that focus on personal escape and independence. In Bruce Springsteen’s song from The River (1980), he sings about leaving home, not necessarily on the Fourth of July. The song highlights the tension between father and son, with the son leaving: “Well say goodbye it’s Independence Day / It’s Independence Day all boys must run away.”
While Springsteen’s “Independence Day” portrays a bittersweet aspect of growing up and escaping, Martina McBride sings her “Independence Day” as an angry and empowering anthem. In the song, written by Gretchen Peters, the singer recounts her mom standing up to domestic abuse.
The “Independence Day” in this song refers both to the mother’s action asserting independence as well as to the holiday: “So I took myself down to the fair in town / On Independence Day.” Here is McBride’s video of the song, which appeared on her album The Way That I Am (1993).
“Fourth of July, Asbury Park”
Springsteen actually does have a song that, unlike his “Independence Day,” is set on the holiday. “Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” first appeared on Springsteen’s second album, The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle (1973) album. The song captures a moment of young love on a summer holiday down by the shore.
Here is a young Boss playing the song in 1975 at Hammersmith Odeon. Like Shooter’s song, this one does a great job of capturing the holiday spirit.
Songs About Fireworks
I suspect that many firework displays feature Katy Perry’s “Firework,” from her Teenage Dream (2010) album. Although the song mentions the Fourth of July, it does so in the context of asking the object of the song to “Just own the night like the Fourth of July.”
Like McBride’s “Independence Day,” Perry’s “Firework” is a song of empowerment, but without the arson.
Another song that evokes the annual holiday explosives is Ryan Adams’s excellent song, “Firecracker” from his Gold (2001) CD. The song is about courtship instead of going out to see fireworks on the Fourth of July: “I just want to be your firecracker / And maybe be your baby tonight.”
In this video, Adams performs “Firecracker” in an acoustic version.
“The Great Compromise”
John Prine invokes patriotic imagery as he remembers “a girl who was almost a lady” born on the Fourth of July in his wonderful “The Great Compromise.” The song appeared on Prine’s album Diamonds In The Rough (1971).
The girl in “The Great Compromise,” however, really represents the United States. Prine’s song about disillusionment with the country during the Vietnam War is one of the great songs about our country. [Thanks to Lucia Ferrara for reminding me about the Prine song.]
Other Singing References to the Fourth
Many other singers and songwriters have planted references to the holiday in their songs. For example, there are songs by James Taylor (“On the Fourth of July”), U2 (the instrumental “4th of July”), Elliott Smith (“Independence Day”), X (“4th of July”), Ariel Abshire (“Fourth of July”), and Aimee Mann (“4th of July”).
Tom Waits mentions the holiday in “This One From the Heart.” So does Chicago in “Saturday in the Park” but the band was not completely sure about the day: “Saturday in the park/ I think it was the Fourth of July.”
And Lucinda Williams sang about a “Metal Firecracker,” although the song title referred to a tour bus. PopMatters has a good list of July Fourth songs, and check out the comments below for some more additions.
What is your favorite Fourth of July song? Let us know in the comments. And have a happy and safe Fourth of July.
I recently discovered Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls through their Twitter account and checked out their website to discover some wonderful rootsy rocking music. Check out their video for “California Wine,” and I guarantee you will be singing the catchy song the rest of the day.
Their website describes their music: “Firmly entrenched in organically American music, the band mines elements of rock, country and folk coupled with rich storytelling and the poking and prodding of emotional contexts both personal and worldly.” Those are some fancy words, but the music speaks for itself. You may hear more of their songs on their music page. Also, on their website you will find downloads and a sampler EP of Packed for Exile as well as their debut album, The Vain Hope of Horse (2008), which includes some help from Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Nels Cline of Wilco.
Our readers who are Springsteen fans may be interested to know that the Greedy Souls include Jason Federici, the son of the E Street Band’s late Danny Federici, playing accordian and organ, of course. Along those lines, Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls recorded a version of Springsteen’s “4th of July, Asbury Park” available for free download at Backstreets.com if you click on the song title here. Other members of the Greedy Souls along with Jason Heath include Ben Perdue, Abe Etz, Jonathan Chi, Aaron Gitnick, Chris Joyner, and Ysanne Spevack.
The band is located in California, where Heath grew up and met drummer Abe Etz when they both were in sixth grade. They planned to create a band even before they could play instruments, and, unlike usual childhood dreams, they worked to make this one come true.
If you enjoy the music, check out their website and support the band. Also, for all of the fans of Springsteen, the Greedy Souls, and the Federici’s, do not forget to check out the DannyFund to help fight melanoma, which took Danny Federici away from us way too soon.
Probably the most famous Fourth of July movie is Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), starring James Cagney as George M. Cohen. It is a spectacular and fun bio-pic about the famous entertainer and songwriter. And Cagney gives one of his greatest performances while also capture much about the sound and dance of the real Cohen.
(1971).
