Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:58 — 6.9MB)
Bringing a little slice of life from back home to the troops serving overseas, GI Jill is in charge of the jukebox of the air.
Playlist:
- Count Basey leads off with, Blue Lou.
- By popular request, and more dedications to count, Ida James is backed up by the King Cole Trio as she sings, Knock Me a Kiss.
- Jill reads a letter to share words from home, followed by a request.
- Bing Crosby sings, I’ll Be Seeing You.
- Tiny Bradshaw plays, Cherokee.
Note: G.I. Jill was sometimes thought to be an answer to Tokyo Rose. In actuality the G.I.s just like Jill better. She was a piece of home, and her records were better than Tokyo Rose’s.
Wilkerson recorded for G.I. Jive six days a week. The program was broadcast over short-wave for Africa and Parts of Europe, and transcribed onto disks that were distributed to the Pacific over a “mosquito network.”
