God Bless America an example of Berlin's "habit of interpolating bits of half-remembered songs into his own numbers." Berlin, born Israel Baline, had himself written several Jewish-themed novelty tunes. In 1938, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, Irving Berlin, who was Jewish and had arrived in America from Russia at the age of five, felt it was time to revive it as a "peace song," and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938, sung by Kate Smith on her radio show. Berlin had made some minor changes; by this time, "to the right" might have been considered a call to
Great God Who Saves while the song "Bless the Lord" was nominated for Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year. The album peaked at #25 on "Billboard"'s Christian Albums and #25 on Heatseekers Albums. Great God Who Saves Great God Who Saves is the first official studio album from singer/songwriter Laura Story. The album was released on March 18, 2008. "Great God Who Saves" garnered generally positive reception from music critics to critique the album. At "CCM Magazine", David McCreary felt that the album was "As soothing as a cup of herbal tea after a hectic day, Story's debut should serve as a cathartic achievement