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Vera Lynn

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dame Vera Lynn
Vera Lynn in 1962
Vera Lynn in 1962
Background information
Birth nameVera Margaret Welch
Born(1917-03-20)20 March 1917
East Ham, Essex, England
Died18 June 2020(2020-06-18) (aged 103)
Ditchling, East Sussex, England
GenresTraditional pop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, actress
Years active1935–2014
LabelsUK Decca/London, HMV

Dame Vera Margaret Lynn CH DBE (née Welch; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and actress. Lynn was born in East Ham, Essex. She began performing in public at age seven and she started using her grandmother's maiden name (Lynn) as her stage name.[1] Her first radio broadcast was in 1935 with the Joe Loss Orchestra. At this time she was being featured on records released by dance bands including those of Loss and of Charlie Kunz.[2]

She was popular during World War II. Her best known songs are We'll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover.

Lynn worked a lot with charities for former military servicemen, disabled children, and breast cancer.[3] Veterans of the Second World War still admire her. She was named the Briton who best exemplified (the best example of) the spirit of the twentieth century, in 2000.[3]

Vera Lynn's album We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn went to #1 in the United Kingdom. This made her the oldest living artist to top the U.K. album charts.[4] The album is some of her recordings made for Decca Records. Lynn recorded for Decca between 1936 and 1959. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart on 13 September 2009. The album entered the chart at number 20 on 30 August. It then climbed to number 2 the following week, before reaching the top position.

The 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, ends with a world-ending war of atomic bombs. The scene uses Vera Lynn's song We'll Meet Again.

Lynn died on 18 June 2020 at the age of 103 in East Sussex.[5][6]

Lynn sings at a munitions factory in 1941
Year Album
1961 Yours
1961 As Time Goes By
1962 Hits Of The Blitz
1964 Among My Souvenirs
1966 More Hits Of The Blitz
1970 Hits Of The 60's — My Way
1972 Favourite Sacred Songs
1976 Christmas With Vera Lynn
1977 Vera Lynn In Nashville
1981 20 Family Favourites
1989 We'll Meet Again
2009 We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn
2010 Unforgettable
2014 National Treasure – Ultimate Collection


Movie
Year Title Role Notes
1943 We'll Meet Again Peggy Brown
1943 Rhythm Serenade Ann Martin
1944 One Exciting Night Vera Baker
1962 Venus fra Vestø Herself

References

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  1. Lynn, Vera (2009). Some Sunny Day. London: Harper Collins. pp. 12 and 43. ISBN 978-0-00-731815-5.
  2. Seidenberg, Steven; Sellar, Maurice; Jones, Lou (1995). You Must Remember This. Great Britain: Boxtree Limited. p. 132. ISBN 0-7522-1065-3.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Vera Lynn Biography". Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  4. Richard Simpson (14 September 2009). "Dame Vera Lynn, the new queen of the album charts at 92". Daily Mail (UK). Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  5. "Forces' Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn dies aged 103". BBC News. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  6. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (18 June 2020). "Vera Lynn, singer and 'forces' sweetheart', dies aged 103". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 June 2020.

Other websites

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