Defeating the enemy was hard work. When it came time for a break, factories enjoyed a pause that refreshed.
The Coca-Cola Co. sponsored a national radio program that treated World War II defense workers to free concerts in their hometowns by top musicians of the day.
The Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands, which aired from 1941 to 1945, was heard over nearly 200 stations on the Blue Network, forerunner of ABC, including Akron’s WAKR and Canton’s WHBC.
Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Lionel Hampton, Lawrence Welk, Stan Kenton and Louis Prima were only a few of the bandleaders who headlined more than 1,200 patriotic programs across the country.
Northeast Ohio war plants and military centers welcomed big acts for crowded concerts that saluted workers, honored troops and boosted public morale on the national stage. The shows also heavily promoted Coca-Cola, which was advertised as “The Pause That Refreshes.”
Victory Parade brought bandleader Ozzie Nelson and his singer wife, Harriet Hilliard, to Akron with their sons David, 6, and Ricky, 2, for a concert July 26, 1943, saluting the B.F. Goodrich Co. The program The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, first on radio and later on TV, soon made the family superstars.
Nelson’s orchestra performed at Summit Beach Park’s Wisteria Ballroom as 35,000 Goodrich employees and their families attended the company picnic. Goodrich presented 1,200 silver 10-year pins at the rally.
Sgt. Frederick J. Thibodeau, wounded near Bizerte, Tunisia, and Pfc. Donald R. Wilson, wounded at Guadalcanal, thanked employees for their support and urged them to keep working hard.
Vice President Thomas G. Graham told the crowd: “I am neither a prophet nor a military strategist, but I am firmly convinced that far too many of us believe this war will be concluded in a manner of months. If we were in the armed forces, I’m sure we would think differently.”
The Victory Parade aired the first 30 minutes of each night’s show. “Tonight, playing from ACHE-run, Ohio,” Blue Network announcer Mike Roy intoned: “The Spotlight Band points with pride to the men and women on the production lines of the B.F. Goodrich Co. in the world’s rubber center of Akron, and the thousands of other workers in company plants from coast to coast and Canada.”
Nelson’s band began the show with its hit Dream a Little Dream. When the song finished, the announcer told the audience: “And remember, whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be, when you think of refreshment, think of Coca-Cola.”
Claude Thornhill & His Orchestra entertained Ravenna Arsenal workers Oct. 23, 1942, at the Kent State University gymnasium. Thornhill’s hit songs included Snowfall, I Wish I Had You and Let’s Go.
More than 4,000 Ravenna ordnance workers and Kent State students attended the concert. Introduced as “The Pride of the Fleet,” sailor Joe Santone, a second-class machinist’s mate who fought at Midway and the Solomon Islands, gave a pep talk.
It was Thornhill’s last show before he enlisted in the Navy as an apprentice seaman. Singers were Lillian Lane, Dick Harding, Martha Wayne and Buddy Stewart.
Thornhill was made an honorary member of Kent State’s Kappa Mu Kappa fraternity and posed for gag photos as frat members pretended to swat him with a paddle.
Following the radio broadcast, the orchestra broke up. Billboard magazine reported that Thornhill was “out of circulation for the duration.”
Bandleader Tommy Tucker entertained 2,500 Goodyear Aircraft workers Nov. 5, 1942, at the Akron Armory. Tucker’s orchestra was best known for the hit song I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire.
Emcee Willis “Bid” Edmund introduced William Shelton, a survivor of the USS Wasp, an aircraft carrier that was sunk in the Pacific.
Goodyear Chief Executive Officer P.W. Litchfield reminded the crowd that “America is watching us. America is counting on us.”
“We are engaged in a gigantic undertaking,” he said. “It is natural that some should wonder whether or not we have bitten off more than we can chew. But so far we have met the challenge and answered the skeptics by real production of parts for flying planes.”
Following the 30-minute radio broadcast, the armory floor was cleared for dancing.
“Akron can’t be so bad,” the Beacon Journal noted. “In fact, Tommy Tucker and his bandsmen like it so well that they may enroll en masse at Goodyear Aircraft as war workers and still cling together as a musical organization by making weekly broadcasts from here.”
More than 800 people attended a Victory Parade concert March 24, 1944, in the College of Wooster gymnasium featuring Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra featuring drummer Gene Krupa. The radio broadcast was a salute to the U.S. Navy School in Wooster. The band’s songs included Shoo-Shoo Baby, I’m Getting Sentimental Over You and Irresistible You.
Tony Pastor & His Orchestra entertained Timken Roller Bearing Co. workers March 13, 1945, with a concert in Canton. Featured vocalists on the national broadcast were Dick Dyer and Ruth McCullough. The orchestra’s songs included Bell Bottom Trousers, Dance With a Doll, One Meatball and Sue City Sioux.
George Olsen & His Orchestra saluted Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. workers March 23, 1945, at Goodyear Hall. Judith Blair was the featured vocalist. Olsen’s hits included Sunny, The Varsity Drag and Beyond the Blue Horizon. After the broadcast, the crowd danced until the midnight curfew.
The biggest local event to air on The Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands was a national salute to “Akron — The Rubber Capital of the World” on July 13, 1944, at the Rubber Bowl. Bandleader Harry James and tenor Morton Downey performed before more than 30,000 workers.
“Tonight’s show is specifically for employees of war production industries,” the Beacon Journal reported. “The stage is said to be the largest ever built for an Akron production. With specially built scenery, it is 180 feet by 100 feet.”
Kitty Kallen and Buddy DeVito were the featured vocalists. The 30-member orchestra’s songs included You Made Me Love You, I’ll Get By and I Had the Craziest Dream.
World War II pinup girl Betty Grable, James’ wife, attended the rehearsal, but stayed in her Mayflower Hotel room to avoid causing a commotion at the concert.
Organizers enlisted 120 factory women to participate in a flag-waving pageant. Akron Mayor Charles Slusser delivered the welcome address.
Army Private Joseph Cunert Jr., 22, “just a G.I. Joe wearing no ribbons but doing a good job somewhere in England,” was interviewed about his war experiences.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. H.G. Taylor, a guest speaker at the concert, warned the audience that the war was not yet won.
“If you prayed for some boy last night and are going to pray for him tonight, work for him tomorrow!” Taylor said. “The combination of working and praying is the combination what will shorten this war and bring him back.”
The Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands ended with real victory parades in 1945.
Copy editor Mark J. Price is author of The Rest Is History: True Tales From Akron’s Vibrant Past, a book from the University of Akron Press. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.