Kate Smith

Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith became well known for her renditions of "God Bless America" and "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain".

Songbird of the South

She began to use the descriptor The Songbird of the South in the late 1920s, while performing on the stage. This term was also used by other southern vocalists of that era; however, as the Washington D.C. Sunday Star noted, Smith was not really southern—born in Virginia, she had spent nearly all of her life in the D.C. area. But as Smith became nationally known, she became more identified with the term. By early 1929, she was being referred to that way on a regular basis: a version of the term, using "from" rather than "of," was seen in newspaper advertisements that promoted her stage performances. "Songbird of the South" was used when she appeared on the NBC Radio Network in April. Then, in the summer of that year, she starred in a Vitaphone short feature titled "Songbird of the South," in which she sang two of her hit songs, "Bless You Sister" and "Carolina Moon."

Early life

Smith was born on May 1, 1907, in Greenville, Virginia, to Charlotte 'Lottie' Yarnell (née Hanby) and William Herman Smith, and she grew up in Washington, D.C. Her father owned the Capitol News Company, distributing newspapers and magazines in the greater D.C. area. Smith was the youngest of three daughters, the middle child dying in infancy. She failed to talk until she was four years old, but a year later she was singing at church social events.