365 Days #124 - Tony Richards - Three Cheers for General Ike (mp3s)

MP3:
Tony Richards - Three Cheers for General Ike (3:05)

Are you tired of the 2008 Presidential Election Cycle already? Do you find little to like in the 10, 15, 20 candidates who are running around the country eighteen months of the election?

This time around, there is no incumbent president or vice president in the running, and it's the first time that's happened since... well... 1952!

And speaking of 1952, here we have Tony Richards, recorded that year on President Records, showing us the way to solve all of our presidential needs! And if you turn the record over, he'll sing it just the same way, all over again!

Is it too late for a "Draft Eisenhower" movement?

- Contributed by: Bob Purse

Image: Record

Media: 78rpm
Label: President Records
Date: 1952

Comments

[Pinball King]

There were at least two "I Like Ike" songs, one written by Irving Berlin, and a much catchier one that went "I like Ike, you like Ike, everyone likes Ike". The second song even had an animated video made by Disney.

[Mike]

Berlin actually wrote more than one song for Ike. He had a novelty number called "They Like Ike" in his 1950 Broadway musical "Call Me Madam" and then changed the lyric to "I Like Ike" for the '52 campaign. In '54, he wrote something called "I Still Like Ike." And in '56, he wrote "Ike For Four More Years." Now, if you guys could dig up recordings of the latter songs, or Berlin's Al Smith campaign tunes (1924's "We'll All Go Voting For Al" or 1928's "Good Times With Hoover, Better Times With Al"), I would have something to listen to while reading Chomsky.