Today in Music (1894): "Dem Golden Slippers" hit #1

Dem Golden Slippers James A. Bland (music/lyrics)

Writer(s): James A. Bland (see lyrics here) First Published: 1874 First Charted: June 30, 1894 (Silas Leachman) Peak: 14 PM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.1 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.642 video, 0.104 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: James A. Bland wrote the words and music for “Dem Golden Slippers” weeks before his 20th birthday in 1874. TR It was a parody of “Golden Slippers,” a spiritual popularized by the Fisk Jubilee Singers after the American Civil War. WK He played the song for George Primrose of Skiff & Gaylord’s Minstrel Show. Primrose didn’t offer Bland a job but started using the song in his show. TR The next year, Bland joined the Original Georgia Minstrels, who were comprised of black performers. TR He became a “prominent black minstrel songwriter and banjo player” BA with the group. Bland finally had the song published in 1879, after which time other minstrel shows started using the song. TR “Dem Golden Slippers” surpassed the original spiritual and became “a bluegrass instrumental standard.” WK It also became the unofficial theme song for the Mummers Parade, which is held in Philadelphia each year on New Year’s Day. BA In 1894, Silas Leachman charted with his version of the song, taking it to #1. It was his most notable of four chart entries. PM He came from Louisville but settled in Chicago around 1890. Within two years he was recording for the North American phonograph company as “an amateur minstrel singer and pianist.” ST He was a unique artist because that era rarely saw an artist who worked as a singer and instrumentalist because of the recording technology available. ST Resources: BA BalladOfAmerica.org TR Theodore Raph (1986). The American Song Treasury: 100 Favorites. Dover Publications, Inc.: Mineola, NY. Page 188. ST SyncopatedTimes.com “Silas Leachman: Pioneer Self-Accomanpanist” PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 269. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/23/2025.

 

Today in Music (1894): “Yankee Doodle” hit #1

Yankee Doodle (aka “Yankee Doodle Went to Town”) Vess Ossman

Writer(s): Dr. Richard Schukburgh (lyrics), traditional (music) (see lyrics here) Published: 1780s First Charted: June 2, 1894 Peak: 14 PM, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.006 video, -- streaming

Awards (Schukburgh): Click on award for more details. Awards (Ossman):

About the Song: He was born Sylvester Louis Ossman in Hudson, New York, on August 21, 1868 and is considered “the foremost recorded ragtime musician of the original ragtime era.” PM Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories describes him as “’The King of the Banjo’ from the 1890s to World War I.” PM He charted 27 times from 1894 to 1911, PM most notably with his instrumental version of “Yankee Doodle,” his first chart entry and first #1 in 1894. The song was published in the 1780s, but its tune is thought to be even older. It may have originated from the Irish tune “All the Way to Galway” or even a 15th-century song from Holland. The latter contained nonsense words in English and Dutch such as “Yanker, didel, doodle down.” WK The term “Doodle” appears in English in the early 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the word “dudel,” a Low German word which means “playing music badly,” or the word “dödel,” which means a “fool” or “simpleton.” WK The phrase “macaroni” from the song comes from 1770s slang for a macaroni wig. WK Finally, the term “dandy” referred to men who “placed particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisure hobbies.” WK In pre-Revolutionary War times, British military officers sang the song to mock the “disheveled, disorganized colonial Yankees with whom they served in the French and Indian War.” WK It played on a stereotype that American soldiers were simpletons who thought they wer stylish by sticking feathers in their cap. WK It was written by British Army surgeon Richard Shuckburgh around 1755. WK However, for Americans it became a song of defiance and national pride. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Vess Ossman PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 345-6. WK Wikipedia First posted 6/25/2024.