Charles Lindbergh - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

Lindbergh's life has spurred the imaginations of many writers and others; the following list provides a summary of notable popular cultural references:

• Charles Lindbergh was selected as Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1927, becoming the first holder of that title. As of 2010, Lindbergh remains the youngest individual (age 25) to be named Person of the Year.
• A song called "Lindbergh (The Eagle of the U.S.A.)" was released soon after the 1927 flight. A multitude of songs with "Lucky Lindy" in the title were released in the aftermath of the Atlantic crossing. Tony Randall revived the song "Lucky Lindy" in an album of Jazz Age and Depression-era songs that he recorded entitled Vo Vo De Oh Doe (1967).
• The dance craze the "Lindy Hop" became popular after his flight, and was named after him.
• In 1929, Bertolt Brecht wrote a musical called Der Lindberghflug (The Lindbergh Flight) with music by Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith. In 1950 because of Lindbergh's apparent Nazi sympathies Brecht removed all direct references to Lindbergh, and renamed the piece Der Ozeanflug (The Ocean Flight).
• Woody Guthrie wrote a song called "Lindbergh" on The Asch Recordings Vol. 1 recorded in the 1940s. The song was anti-Lindbergh, and included the line "they say America First but they mean America Next."
• Mickey Mouse imitates Charles Lindbergh in the 1928 short Plane Crazy in which the latter was previewed.