Singers, songs and their amazing connections!

These two stories are new to me.

In 1960, Col. Tom Parker first heard about the construction of a memorial over the sunken remains of the U.S.S. Arizona in Pearl Harbor.  The ship had been sunk on Dec. 7, 1941 and more than a thousand sailors are entombed on the battleship.  Parker decided that he wanted Elvis Presley to be a part of raising funds for the monument.  A big part!

On March 25, 1961 Parker booked Pearl Harbor's Bloch Arena for an Elvis concert.  Elvis was already scheduled to be in the state to film "Blue Hawaii."

The arena held 4,000 concertgoers and ticket prices ranged for $100 each for a "ringside seat" to $3.00 for the cheapest seat.  The U.S.S.Arizona Memorial Committee insisted "that not a single free ticket be given away for the show."  And that included the performers.  Col. Tom Parker paid $100 for Elvis' ticket as well as for all the performers that day.

The show was a complete sell-out.  Nashville comedienne Minnie Pearl was the opening act.  The show raised $60,000 for the memorial.

Who knew that Elvis Presley was the single largest donor to what is today Hawaii's #1 tourist attraction?  Oh, and if you were not able to make it to the show, here is what it sounded like!

Here is another strange singer/song connection with history.

When the 1973 Fall of Saigon came in the harrowing last days of the Vietnam War, a signal was needed to be sent out over the city to notify military and civilian personnel that the enemy had breached the city's borders and that the end was near and they needed to make their way to the U.S, Embassy for evacuation.

The signal needed to be clear, unmistakable and one that would resonate across the city.  They decided that Bing Crosby's 'White Christmas" would be the recording that was played to basically signify the end of the Vietnam War.

The juxtaposition is jarring.  Bing's mellow tones echoing the sentiments of a "white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know" as chaos reigned in the streets of Saigon.

Here is an interesting video on the song and the Fall of Saigon.

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