 | You’re a Grand Old Flag” (aka “Grand Old Rag”)Billy Murray |
Writer(s): George M. Cohan -- (see lyrics here) First Charted: May 5, 1906 Peak: 110 US, 12 GA, 13 SM, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.67 video, -- streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details. 
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About the Song:“Perhaps no other American popular song composer did more to popularize the patriotic song than George M. Cohan.” PS He claimed to be born on the 4th of July, although he was actually born the day before. As part of a vaudeville family, he toured New England and the Midwest during his boyhood. By 1904, he wrote and starred in his first musical, Little Johnny Jones. Two years later, he wrote George Washington, Jr., another Broadway show he wrote, produced and starred in as the character of George Belgrave. The show featured “Grand Old Flag,” the song which arguably made him a superstar. PS It isn’t too surprising it became so popular. It was “a patriotic song in a snappy tempo sung by a vigorous and enthusiastic performer to an audience that loves America.” RA The song also drew on other beloved hits such as “Dixie” and “Auld Lang Syne.” SS When performing it during the musical, Cohan marched and down the stage waving an American flag. PS He also performed the song in 1932 in his first talking picture, The Phantom President. TY2 Still, the song wasn’t without controversy. Cohan originally called it “The Grand Old Rag,” inspired by a Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg. The man held a carefully folded, but tattered flag and said to Cohan, “She’s a grand old rag.” WK Cohan replicated the scene for the musical, but “despite the song’s clear patriotic message, ‘rag’ was considered by many to be an undignified and inappropriate way to refer to the American flag” NRR so Cohan changed the title to “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Billy Murray, who has been called “the definitive interpreter of Cohan on record,” SS recorded the song under its original title, despite Cohan’s efforts to pull it. WK The controversy didn’t hurt the song; it became the first from a musical to sell more than a million copies of sheet music. SB Murray made it the biggest hit of 1906 WHC and the biggest-selling record of the first decade for Victor Records. DJ Resources:
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First posted 5/5/2014; last updated 12/15/2022. |
