IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE….IT’S CHARLES LINDBERGH!
Taking off from my last post (where I left the Wright Brothers up in the air and me breezin’ along with the breeze), we come to May 20, a day second to none in aviation annals.*
On this May day in 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from New York for Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis (his monoplane), to begin the second (and most famous) nonstop transatlantic flight in history. Yes, I said second — the first was made by paired English aviators in 1919, from Newfoundland to Ireland (about half the distance of Lindbergh’s solo flight).
On this date in 1932, Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland for Paris, but due to weather conditions, she had to ‘pull up’ short in Northern Ireland, nonetheless becoming the first woman to make a solo nonstop transatlantic flight.
We now turn to the musical portion of the program. Faster than you can say “It’s a bird,” Lindbergh’s fame brought songwriters down from the clouds to cash in, hatching a flock of insipid pop songs. Not so with Earhart’s feat, not even a peep of a song….although her lost flight over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 did inspire a few songs that didn’t long survive.
OK. If I had to eat crow in my last post, can I now soar like an eagle with these jazzed-up Lindberg hit tunes soaring over treacly lyrics:
Ladies and gendermen, the Spirit of St. Louis is coming in for a landing — and if we’re Lucky, Lindy will be in the spirit for a rousing finish.
*In addition to the Lindbergh and Earhart flights, May 20 was also the day Congress passed the Air Commerce Act licensing pilots and planes in 1926, and the date of the first regular transatlantic airmail flight (Pan Am, NYC to Marseille, France) in 1939.
scifihammy 9:59 am on May 20, 2018 Permalink |
Very interesting – lots I didn’t know. 🙂
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mistermuse 11:10 am on May 20, 2018 Permalink |
This was an interesting piece to research, as I too learned a few things — in particular, that Lindberg’s wasn’t the first transatlantic flight, and that Earhart’s intended destination was Paris. I guess that puts me one up on Earhart, because I DID make it to Paris (with the minor caveat that I was on a bus and not alone). 😦
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scifihammy 12:39 pm on May 20, 2018 Permalink
Yes, I did not know those things either. 🙂
And I also made it to Paris. 😀
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arekhill1 12:13 pm on May 20, 2018 Permalink |
Our local airport here in San Diego is named Lindbergh Field, Sr. Muse, which never fails to irritate my Jewish girl, since Lindbergh, besides being an air hero, was an anti-Semite with pro-Hitler leanings. Amelia Earhart made the wise choice to preserve her legacy intact by disappearing.
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mistermuse 12:46 pm on May 20, 2018 Permalink |
Funny you should mention that, Ricardo, because I was going to use this funny clip, but couldn’t work it in. Your comment gives me the perfect excuse to do so now:
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Don Frankel 7:29 am on May 21, 2018 Permalink |
Good stuff Muse. The first transatlantic flight was completed by U.S. Navy planes, the NC 1, NC 3 and NC 4 with NC 4 landing first. This was back in 1919. They were sea planes and stopped 5 times. I think what Lindbergh represented was you could fly across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in one jump. Meaning you could make money doing it.
But since this is ‘It’s a bird. It’s a plane’ let us not forget…
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mistermuse 9:18 am on May 21, 2018 Permalink |
Thanks, Don. I remember the Superman intro well. As a boy, it really stirred the imagination!
In my research, I didn’t come across mention of the 1919 U.S. Navy transatlantic flight, probably because it wasn’t nonstop like the English flight the same year. But neither flight made near the impact that Lindbergh’s did in terms of fame and fortune.
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Don Frankel 12:29 pm on May 21, 2018 Permalink |
Same as Alan Shepard Gus Grissom space flights didn’t capture the nation’s attention the way John Glenn’s did.
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Lisa R. Palmer 10:06 am on May 22, 2018 Permalink |
Fascinating facts and music, mistermuse!
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mistermuse 12:44 pm on May 22, 2018 Permalink |
Glad you enjoyed the post, Lisa. Appreciation is music to my ears! 🙂
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RMW 9:12 pm on May 23, 2018 Permalink |
Having just flown from LA to London and back again within ten days I think May 6 and May 16 should be commemorated in the annals of flight from now on! It wasn’t easy drinking all that wine and watching all those movies!!!
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mistermuse 9:08 am on May 24, 2018 Permalink |
But look at the bright side, RMW — you got a ten day reprieve from Trump’s BS!
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moorezart 12:20 pm on June 16, 2018 Permalink |
Reblogged this on From 1 Blogger 2 Another.
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mistermuse 5:05 pm on June 16, 2018 Permalink |
It’s plane to see
you’re the 1 (Blogger) for me.
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