Before the birth of Kansas City jazz, the musical community served up ragtime and blues. In 1917, the military-themed anthem “Over There” became a nationwide hit following America’s entry into the war. Peabody Award-winning radio personality Michael Lasser explores the popular songs inspired by World War I, many of which we still hum today.

Lasser has been called “a walking encyclopedia of American song” and is the author of America’s Songs II: Songs from the 1890s to the Post-War Years. He hosts a weekly syndicated radio show “Fascinatin’ Rhythm.”