Readers React: Music from the Great Depression that is appropriate for our time
To the editor: Thanks for the op-ed article about the history and importance to U.S. troops serving overseas of the song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and thanks for reminding us that this classic and endearing song, first made popular by Bing Crosby in 1943, has just as much value and meaning today as it did back then.
I would propose, in light of recent developments, that there is a song from 1932, also sung by Bing Crosby, that may be very appropriate for the times in which we live: “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”
Where is Franklin Delano Roosevelt now when we really need him?
Mark Richardson, Cardiff, Calif.
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To the editor: ML Cavanaugh’s op-ed article was a lovely tribute to Crosby’s haunting, melancholy version of the holiday classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and its lyricist, Kim Gannon.
Cavanaugh points out that the song contains only 39 words; the article runs to several hundred. Didn’t Cavanaugh have room to include the name of Walter Kent, who wrote the music?
Monte Montgomery, Los Angeles
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