John F. Kennedy and his listening habits

Hello, I was helping all you astute forum members out there could help me with this. Pertaining to a writing project I'm working on, I was curious to learn more of what we know about John Fitzgerald Kennedy's tastes and preferences when it came to music.

Naturally there seems to be very little out there on the internet, and whatever books I have about him here skirt the subject, although I did read that "Hooray for Hollywood" was playing on the radio when news of his shooting first came in, and that that was one of the president's favorite songs.

Also, I came across this interesting article which purports to reveal his five favorite songs. Fascinating stuff to be sure.

I was curious though if anyone else could provide further insights into JFK's listening habits. Ideally of course I would love to know what sort of hi-fi systems they had in the White House at the time, or Hyannis Port, or wherever he did the majority of his listening. But seeing as that sort of information likely is lost to time, just any insight or further information would be great. Thanks!

 

This is interesting, and relevant I think... a tribute sung by Judy Garland in Dec. '63. Sponsors of the TV show threatened to leave because of the "political" nature of the song.

 

Fisher Electronics? As in make of his hi-fi? Or Eddie Fisher as in singer he enjoyed?

 

That was revelatory, thank you.

 

I bet he listened to Sinatra, at least for a while.

 

I'm pretty sure this was his favorite song !

 

“Once there was a fleeting wisp of glory called Camelot,” sang Richard Burton as King Arthur in the theatre production of Camelot in 1960. In a tribute to the recently assassinated President Kennedy, Theodore H. White recounted how the new widow remembered the lines JFK loved the most from one of his favorite songs: “Don’t let it be forgot that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.” She explained, “Jack had this hero idea of history, the idealistic view.”

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/longing-nostalgia/201311/camelot-remembered-or-imagined



However, in Michael O’Brien’s biography of JFK, he has some conflicting information.

All of Kennedy’s aides, though, have derided the notion that Kennedy’s presidency in any way resembled Camelot. For Larry O’Brien, the White House liaison with Congress, the Kennedy administration was exhaustingly hard work, seven days a week. “If at any time Camelot existed, it eluded me,” he reflected. “I never saw it or felt it,” Kennedy’s secretary Evelyn Lincoln, accused Jackie of creating a Camelot fantasy. “You know what [the President] would have said about it—‘Oh not that trash!’ [Jackie] said ‘Camelot’ was his favorite song. His favorite song was ‘Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?’” (O’Brien, Introduction XIII)

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en...eNoodonUSFS_3AvSoGLJ-51Kg#v=onepage&q&f=false


I guess the mystery of his favorite song comes down to who you believe, his wife or his secretary.

 

It would have been interesting to see how he liked the Beatles, but we'll never know. I suppose he would have liked the same sorts of things Don Draper liked, so he might have turned off "Tomorrow Never Knows" mid-song.

 

Sorry, I'll be sure to read your mind better next time.

Seriously though, thank you. That was precisely the kind of info I was looking for.

 

Today is Judy Garland's birthday. Surely JFK and Jackie must've played "Judy at Carnegie Hall" on the Hi-Fi... just speculation.

 

Thanks, this is some great insight from those who were there. I never really drew a connotation between the Richard Harris Camelot and JFK's, but it makes sense. Appreciate it!

 

Music To Read James Bond By

 

He was tickled by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem:

 

Slightly off topic but here's the TV he had in the Oval Office:

[discussed here http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=162568]

 

I always thought his favorite song was "Happy Birthday". For obvious reasons........

 

I found this at the JFK Library site while Googling under "John F. Kennedy musical taste."

"His musical tastes ran to Broadway show tunes and Irish ballads rather than Mozart or Beethoven. Once, when asked about the president’s taste in music, the first lady replied that his favorite piece was “Hail to the Chief.” [Source: http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Arts-and-Culture-in-the-Kennedy-White-House.aspx]

A more in-depth examination can be found here: http://wosu.org/2012/archive/jfk/life.php. Apparently he also dug Tchaikovsky and the Twist!

 

Top photo in post 17 is one of my favorite photos of all time.
Nice to see it show up here.

 

I remember when he died someone on the radio said he liked "Spanish Harlem".

 

A friend and I used to joke that the morning of the parade, he was planning an immediate trip to the UK so he could watch the premiere of Dr. Who and pick up With The Beatles. Doesn't really work, though.

Maybe he "had to" like "Hail To The Chief" because he was the President, but "privately" he liked "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey?"

 

Of course he would have appreciated Chubby Checkers.

 

Insofar as Judy Garland and John F. Kennedy, Garland campaigned in Germany for Kennedy in 1960. Garland was a Democrat since the Franklin D. Roosevelt days, and Kennedy was a great inspiration to her. She would often remark that she would call the White House, and Kennedy would ask her to sing the opening bars of "Over the Rainbow." But, to my knowledge, I cannot say in all honesty that Kennedy was a Garland fan. I cannot recall ever reading that he listened to her records. He did watch her 1963/1964 TV series, and said he arranged his White House schedule to watch her on Sunday evenings. And clearly, Garland was deeply affected by his assassination, which showed in her majestic interpretation of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" after his death. Garland was a liberal, and Kennedy admired her for her artistry, values, and star appeal. But, from there to say he was a fan is a stretch. Here are some photos of them together:

 

While Marilyn gets the most attention for her song at "New York's Birthday Salute to President Kennedy," May 19, 1962, the following musicians also performed:
Ella Fitzgerald
Danny Kaye
Maria Callas
Peggy Lee
Bobby Darin
Diahann Carroll