The Campaign Jukebox: Happy Days with FDR

By
Hillary Bonhomme
New Standards | Oct 13, 2016

As with all great presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt ran with a carefully planned campaign strategy, but at the 1932 Democratic National Convention, plans went slightly astray...

After an introductory speech by Judge John E Mack left the audience less than enthused, the Roosevelt campaign had to grab a song to help rev up the crowd before Roosevelt made his first speech as the democratic candidate. As fate would have it, the song was a perfect choice for a candidate hoping to bring the US out of The Great Depression. Tin Pan Alley standard, "Happy Days are Here Again", had lyrics that summed up the message of FDR and led him to clench the election of 1932, holding office for the next 11 years. 

The Campaign Jukebox looks at the history of the campaign song, uncovering how it all began and what made the campaign song necessary.

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Hillary Bonhomme

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