In the Summer of His Years. A British Tribute to JFK 60 Years Ago.

The popular BBC television program That Was The Week That Was scrapped its programming for Saturday, November 23, 1963, and created a tribute to John F. Kennedy. The most memorable part of it was this song, The Summer of His Years,  Herb Kretzmer wrote the lyrics, and David Lee composed the lyrics. The remarkable Millicent Martin–who lives in today in Los Angeles–learned the song and performed it that Saturday night.

Mahalia Jackson and Connie Francis were among the American singers who recorded versions of “The Summer of His Years.” No version was met with a universal welcome. How to mourn and pay tribute to our martyred president in popular culture was a challenge.

Judy Garland was in the midst of her one-season television show on CBS. Garland had been a friend and active supporter of JFK. She wanted to devote an episode of her hourlong show to patriotic songs to her fallen friend. CBS executives, a tough lot even for television, vetoed the idea, insisting the nation would soon forget about the assassination. The determined Garland inserted her own tribute into the conclusion of an episode–omitting it from written running order that was submitted to the network suits. Her instincts did not fail her.

Published November 22, 2023.

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Read and subscribe to Now You Know–The Cultural Lives of Others. It’s free. This week’s guest is political polymath Vincent Mauro–chief of staff at the Senate Democrats caucus (until December 15th) and chairman of the New Haven Democratic organization.