By WFAN.com
Kate Smith's version of "God Bless America" has been a fixture at Yankee home games since 9/11, but it hasn't been played this season. Instead, other versions of the song have provided the soundtrack for the seventh-inning stretch.
The New York Daily News got to the bottom of why Smith's recording has disappeared, and it apparently has to do with recently discovered racist songs that were recorded by the famous singer.
"The Yankees have been made aware of a recording that had been previously unknown to us and decided to immediately and carefully review this new information," a club spokesman said to the Daily News. "The Yankees take social, racial and cultural insensitivities very seriously. And while no final conclusions have been made, we are erring on the side of sensitivity."
The Daily News also has more on the details behind the startling racist songs that Smith recorded.
"Smith was a famous singer before and during WWII who recorded the offensive jingle, 'Pickaninny Heaven,' which she directed at 'colored children' who should fantasize about an amazing place with 'great big watermelons,' among other treats. She shot a video for that song that takes place in an orphanage for black children, and much of the imagery is startlingly racist. She also recorded, 'That's Why Darkies Were Born,' which included the lyrics, 'Someone had to pick the cotton. … That's why darkies were born.'"
There is a statue of Smith in Philadelphia outside the former location of the Spectrum, the Flyers old arena. Smith's "God Bless America" was played more by the team back in the 1970s, when she would also sometimes appear in person to perform it. Her version is still sung on occasion at Flyers games.
In 1982, Smith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan.
It doesn't seem like the Yankees have any plans to get rid of "God Bless America" all together. The Daily News also claims that the team will mix in more live performances to in the absence of Smith's rendition.
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