Collection The Ford White House 1974 - 1977
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the nation’s only unelected president and vice president, served thirteen terms in Congress before rising to...
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As the war in Europe cast its shadow over the capital’s social life, White House entertaining diminished. But one event in particular stands out: "A Program of American Songs for American Soldiers," presented by Burl Ives, Wade Mainer and other folk, spiritual and ballad singers in 1941. It was a new concept, a conscientious effort to relate American traditional music to the armed services at a critical period in the nation’s history. After President Roosevelt’s death in 1945, his vice president, Harry S. Truman, succeeded him. A passionate music lover, who played Chopin, Mozart, and Bach with modest proficiency, Truman had studied piano from age eight to sixteen, and the love of music remained with him all his life.
Landmark Era Performances - 1946-1947:
Because of extensive White House renovations (1948-1952), the Trumans
held only one season of concerts in the mansion, from November 1946 to
February 1947. These programs, however, included several prominent
artists, such as Lawrence Tibbett, Oscar Levant, Carroll Glenn, Eugene
List, and Helen Traubel, the esteemed vocal teacher of Truman’s musical
daughter, Margaret.
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the nation’s only unelected president and vice president, served thirteen terms in Congress before rising to...
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