Tuesday (November 8, 2022) is election day, and I hope I don’t have to convince anyone that it is essential that we all cast our ballot. The “election deniers” are out there, along with kooks of every size and shape, and it is up to all of us to protect our freedoms by electing those who want to protect the very right to vote.
Voting was equally important during the war years, and was enthusiastically embraced by a people fighting the worst kind of fascism overseas. Cindy Walker, a popular performer and even more successful songwriter, penned “Election Day.” The tune was produced as a Soundie in March 1944, a full eight months before the Presidential election that would give Franklin D. Roosevelt an unprecedented fourth term.
Cindy Walker reportedly valued her songwriting talents above performing, and during this period she began providing material to Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Wills recorded dozens of her songs, scoring major hits with “Cherokee Maiden,” “Dusty Skies” and “Bubbles in My Beer.” Other performers clamored for her material, and Walker’s songs were recorded by Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Jerry Vale, and the Byrds. Eight of Walker’s song were produced as Soundies, with the composer featured in six of them.
Walker is joined here by Red River Dave (McEnery), another popular Western artist. McEnerey appeared in a dozen Soundies and we will revisit him in the future. Dave’s band, the Red River Boys, is seen and heard in this Soundie. As always, soloists are identified on screen whenever possible.
Enjoy the music, then get out there and vote!