Today in Music (1863): “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” published

When Johnny Comes Marching Home Patrick Gilmore (lyrics), unknown (music)

Writer(s): Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore as Louis Lambert (lyrics), unknown (music) (see lyrics here) First Published: September 26, 1863 First Charted: June 30, 1960 (Adam Faith with John Barry & His Orchestra) Peak: 5 UK (Faith) (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 40.34 video, 14.44 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This is “one of the best remembered songs from the Civil War.” AMP Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was the Union Army bandmaster CP when he wrote this song in 1963 under the pseudonym of Louis Lambert. The sheet music was first published in Boston on September 26, 1863, by Henry Tolman & Co. AMP The song was sung by “soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict” BA during the Civil War and has maintained success through the years because of its universal celebration of the joy in welcoming home troops from fighting. Gilmore was born in Ireland in 1829 and came to Boston in 1949 to flee the Irish famine. He died in St. Louis in 1892.. He “became known as the most famous band director of his time.” AMP His reputation as a promotor and character has been compared to circus giant P.T. Barnum, an early employer. AMP Frank J. Cipollo described him as “an extremely energetic and enthusiastic man” AMP and also “a visionary, dreamer, astute businessman, and slick operator.” AMP The composer of the music is unknown although their have been unsubstantiated claims of the melody having Irish, Negro (Afro-American), Scottish, and English roots. AMP The song bears similarities to “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye,” an Irish song about a maimed soldier who is returning from war. It is debated which version came first. CP James J. Fuld claimed the melody was published in July 1863 under the title “Johnny Fill Up the Bowl” but there is no conclusive evidence that Gilmore borrowed from the tune or that credit should be given to anyone other than Gilmore. AMP Gilmore himself, however, said he learned the tune “from an unidentified African-American singer and that it was a traditional African-American melody.” BA It’s also possible he adapted the melody from a traditional Irish folk song. BA Richard Jackson called the song “one of the strongest and most unusual of the period” AMP noting that it didn’t follow the conventional form of the day with a verse followed by a refrain. He said it is “one of relatively few songs in a minor key to achieve and maintain wide popularity.” AMP The song has been featured in movies, most notably Gone with the Wind (1939) and How the West Was Won (1963). Resources: AMP AmericanMusicPreservation.com BA BalladofAmerica.org CP Contemplator.com Related Links: First posted 11/23/2025.

Today in Music (1907): “Auld Lang Syne” charted for first time

Auld Lang Syne Frank Stanley

Writer(s): Robert Burns (lyrics adapted by), music (unknown) (see lyrics here) First Published: 1796 First Charted: December 14, 1907 (Frank Stanley) Peak: 2 BB, 1 DF (Stanley); 5 PM (Peerless Quartet, 1921); 18 DF (Chas & Dave, 1982); 7 BB, 40 R, 3 AC, 15 A40, 98 RB, 31 DF (Kenny G, 1998) (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 47.07 video, 28.08 streaming (multiple versions)

Awards: Click on award for more details. Awards (Frank Stanley): Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Author Don Tyler asserts that along with “Happy Birthday” and “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” “Auld Lang Syne” “may be one of the most well known and most often sung or performed songs in American history.” DT The title, when translated into standard English, is “Old Long Since,” which can be interpreted as “since long ago” or “for old times’ sake.” BR It was a commonly used expression as far back as the reign of King Charles I from 1625 to 1649. DT Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, wrote the words for “Auld Lang Syne” in 1788. He claimed he adapted the words “from an old man’s singing.” BR Indeed, there have been similar poems that preceded Burns’ version. It has been cited as the inspiration for Burns’ version. BR In 1720, Scottish poet Allan Ramsay published a poem beginning with the line “should auld acquaintance be forgot” but otherwise it is dissimilar to Burns’ poem. BR The poem did not appear in print until after Burns’ death when it was published in the fifth volume of James Johnson’s Scots Musical Museum in 1796. BR The lyrics are “about old friends having a drink and recalling adventures they had long ago.” BR The words were set to a Scottish song by an unknown composer. The melody was first published in 1687. SS In 1782, the comic opera Rosina by William Shield used a similar tune. BR Another version of the tune was published in 1792 but with different words.BR George Thomson set the verses to an old Scottish tune which had been the basis fo several songs, including “I Fee’d a Lad at Michaelmas,” “The Miller’s Wedding,” and “The Miller’s Daughter.” DT In 1799, the words and music were published together as we now know them. BR By at least the 1890s, the song was used as a New Year’s Eve celebratory song. SS In 1907, Frank Stanley recorded what may be the first and finest version of the standard. SS It “shows off the resonant, rumbling power of his voice.” SS Bandleader Guy Lombardo made it an annual tradition to perform the song for radio and television broadcasts, first doing so on December 31, 1929, BR and continuing to do so for more than 30 years. BR Resources: BR Britannica.com SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 585-6. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 34-35. Related Links: First posted 11/24/2025.

 

“Buffalo Gals” version by Bruce Springsteen released

Buffalo Gals (Will You Come Out Tonight) Cool White

Writer(s): Cool White (see lyrics here) Published: 1844 First Charted: -- Peak: -- (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.81 video, 1.80 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The traditional American song “Buffalo Gals” was published in 1844 as “Lubly Fan” by the minstrel John Hodges, aka Cool White. The phrase was mock African dialect, common to minstrel performances, for “Lovely Fanny.” BA WK The lyics reference girls who danced at bas, concert-hall-dives, and brothels in the Canal distict at Buffalo, New York. WK Alan Jabbour, a fiddler and folklorist, traced the song’s melody to “Midnight Serenade.” That song was first published in G.P. Knauff’s 1839 book Virginia Reels, Selected and Arranged for the Piano Forte. BA The song likely ciculated orally before it was published but, as often was the case in that time, a song’s authorship went to the first person to transcribe and publish the song. BA The Ethiopian Serenaders published “Philadelphia Gals” in 1845 with a similar melody and lyrics and as “Buffalo Gals” in 1848. BA At the time, touring performers would often change the name of a song to appeal to the local audiences. BA It was also performed as a fiddle tun under other names including “Round Town Gals,” “Round Town Girls,” and “Alabama Gals.” BA The song has been recorded, under many of the various titles, at least 238 times according to SecondHandSongs.com by artists including the Byrds, Fiddlin’ John Carson, the Chieftains, the Chipmunks, Bing Crosby, Bobby Darin, Bill Haley, Burl Ives, Leadbelly, Louis Prima, Jimmie Rodgers, Pete Seeger, and Bruce Spingsteen. Resources: BA BalladOfAmerica.com SH SecondHandSongs.com WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/2/2025.

 

American Music Preservation: Top 250+ Songs

American Music Preservation: Top 250 Songs+

The Center for American Music Preservation (or AmericanMusicPreservation.com) focuses on “American vocal music (classical, folk, popular) from the 18th century to the 20th century.” Roger Lee Hall is identified as the center’s director. The website says he is “a respected musicologist and music preservationist, who has researched and written about American music for over 50 years.” The primitive-looking website appears to have been created in the early 2000s and not touched since, even though the copyright date on it says 1998-2025. As expected, the website isn’t well-organized in terms of navigation. However, with some poking around I found five different lists which celebrate more than 250 songs covering more than 350 years of music, a much wider span than the usual music sources which barely acknowledge the existence of music prior to the rock and roll era. Because of that, I have consolidated those lists into the list here. Songs are identified by title and year of publication. Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations. 1620: “Shout to Jehovah All the Earth (Psalm 100)” 1630: “We Gather Together (Thanksgiving Prayer)” 1719: “Joy to the World” 1726 “100 Psalm Tune New” 1754: “Yankee Doodle (aka ‘Yankee Doodle Went to Town’)” 1759: “My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free” 1768: “The Liberty Song” 1770: “Free America” 1770: “The Massachusetts Song of Liberty” 1770: “Warren” 1771: “The Hill Tops: A Hunting Song” 1772: “Amazing Grace” 1775: “The American Hero” 1775: “The Lexington March” 1776: “Father and I Went Down to Camp” 1778: “Chester (Let Tyrants Shakre Their Iron Rod)” 1778: “Majesty” 1778: “Lamentation Over Boston” 1783: “To Anacreon in Heaven” 1783: “Thanksgiving Song” 1787: “The Grand Constitution” 1788: “U.S. Constitution Ratification Song” 1788: “Beneath a Weeping Willow’s Shade” 1789: “Hail Columbia (The President’s March)” 1789: “Ode to the President of the United States” 1791: “The Death Song of an Indian Chief” 1793: “Victory” 1794: “The Continental Harmony” 1794: “Jubilant” 1796: “New Jerusalem” 1797: “The Battle of Trenton” 1797: “Washington's March” 1798: “Adams and Liberty (The Boston Patriotic Song)” 1799: “Auld Lang Syne” 1799: “Funeral Dirge on the Death of General Washington” 1802: “Dormant” 1803: “Jefferson and Liberty” 1814: “The Star-Spangled Banner” 1822: “The Hunters of Kentucky” 1827: “The Minstrel’s Return from the War” 1829: “There's Nothing True But Heaven” 1832: “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” 1835: “Come Life, Shaker Life” 1840: “The Old Arm Chair” 1841: “Nearer My God to Thee” 1843: “The Old Granite Site” 1843: “Clumbia the Land of the Brave” 1844: “Buffalo Gals (Buffalo Girls Will You Come Out Tonight)” 1844: “Get Off the Track” 1846: “Oh Susanna” 1847: “Followers of the Lamb” 1848: “Simple Gifts” 1851: “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” 1853: “My Old Kentucky Home” 1854: “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair” 1854: “There's Music in the Air” 1855: “Song of the Old Folks” 1855: “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” 1856: “Darling Nellie Gray” 1856: “Gentle Annie” 1856: “The Last Hope” 1857: “Jingle Bells” 1857: “We Three Kings of Orient Are” 1857: “Lorena” 1860: “Dixie” 1861: “The Battle Hymn of the Republic (aka ‘Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!’)” 1861: “The Bonnie Blue Flag” 1861: “Go Down Moses (Let My People Go)” 1861: “John Brown's Body” 1861: “The Vacant Chair” 1861: “Aura Lea” 1862: “A Prayer for the Captive” 1862: “The Battle Cry of Freedom” 1863: “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” 1863: “Willie Has Gone to the War” 1863: “Give Us This Day” 1863: “Weeping Sad and Lonely “ 1864: “Beautiful Dreamer” 1864: “Tenting on the Old Campground” 1869: “Hymn of Peace” 1872: “Festival Hymn” 1872: “Jubilee Waltz” 1872: “Peace and Music” 1873: “Home on the Range” 1876: “Grandfather’s Clock” 1876: “Centennial Meditation of Columbia” 1881: “Song of Our Saviour” 1889: “Oh Promise Me” 1892: “After the Ball” 1894: “Waltz” 1894: “The Sidewalks of New York” 1895: “America the Beautiful” 1895: “The Band Played On” 1897: “On the Banks of the Wabash” 1898: “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” 1899: “Maple Leaf Rag” 1899: “Hello Ma Baby” 1900: “Lift Every Voice and Sing” 1903: “Toyland” 1903: “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” 1904: “Give My Regards to Broadway” 1904: “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” 1905: “My Gal Sal” 1906: “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” 1906: “I Love You Truly” 1907: “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)” 1908: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” 1909: “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” 1909: “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet” 1910: “Some of These Days” 1910: “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” 1910: “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life” 1911: “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” 1911: “A Real Slow Drag” 1912: “Moonlight Bay” 1912: “It’s All in the Game” 1913: “Danny Boy” 1913: “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” 1913: “Peg O’ My Heart” 1914: “St. Louis Blues” 1914: “They Didn't Believe Me” 1914: “Play a Simple Melody” 1917: “Over There” 1918: “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” 1918: “The Lament of Ian the Proud” 1918: “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” 1918: “Land of Our Hearts” 1919: “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody” 1920: “Swanee” 1920: “Whispering” 1920: “Two Sketches on American Indian Themes” 1921: “Ain’t We Got Fun?” 1921: “Three O’Clock in the Morning” 1922: “April Showers” 1922: “Goin’ Home” 1924: “Tea for Two” 1924: “Charleston” 1925: “Manhattan” 1925: “Fascinating Rhythm” 1926: “Someone to Watch Over Me” 1927: “Stardust” 1927: “My Blue Heaven” 1927: “Ol’ Man River” 1928: “My Melancholy Baby” 1928: “Mack the Knife” 1928: “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” 1928: “Sonny Boy” 1929: “Ain’t Misbehavin’” 1929: “You Were Meant for Me” 1930: “I Got Rhythm” 1930: “Body and Soul” 1930: “Happy Days Are Here Again” 1931: “Mood Indigo” 1931: “As Time Goes By” 1932: “Night and Day” 1932: “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” 1932: “The Song Is You” 1933: “Sophisticated Lady” 1933: “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” 1933: “Goodnight Irene” 1933: “The Last Round-Up” 1933: “42nd Street” 1934: “Solitude” 1934: “Anything Goes” 1935: “Begin the Beguine” 1935: “Cheek to Cheek” 1935: “Summertime” 1935: “Blue Moon” 1935: “Lullaby of Broadway” 1936: “The Way You Look Tonight” 1936: “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” 1936: “Pennies from Heaven” 1936: “I’m an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande” 1937: “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” 1937: “Thanks for the Memory” 1937: “Hooray for Hollywood” 1937: “Sweet Leilani” 1938: “Love Is Here to Stay” 1938: “Jerusalem, My Glorious Home” 1939: “Over the Rainbow” 1939: “In the Mood” 1939: “All the Things You Are” 1939: “God Bless America” 1939: “Deep Purple” 1940: “When You Wish Upon a Star” 1940: “I’ll Never Smile Again” 1940: “I’ll Be Seeing You” 1941: “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” 1941: “Chattanooga Choo Choo” 1941: “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” 1941: “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” 1941: “Because of You” 1942: “White Christmas” 1942: “Jingle Jangle Jingle” 1943: “People Will Say We’re in Love” 1943: “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” 1944: “This Land Is Your Land” 1945: “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” 1945: “It Might As Well Be Spring” 1945: “Laura” 1945: “On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” 1946: “There's No Business Like Show Business” 1946: “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” 1947: “Near You” 1947: “Stella by Starlight” 1948: “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” 1948: “Tennessee Waltz” 1949: “Mona Lisa” 1949: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” 1951: “Cold, Cold Heart” 1951: “Cry” 1952: “You Belong to Me” 1952: “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh, My Darlin’)” 1953: “Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)” 1953: “Your Cheatin’ Heart” 1954: “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” 1954: “Sincerely” 1954: “Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)” 1954: “Secret Love” 1954: “Three Coins in the Fountain” 1956: “Don’t Be Cruel” 1956: “On the Street Where You Live” 1956: “Love Me Tender” 1956: “True Love” 1956: “Young Love” 1957: “All the Way” 1957: “Maria” 1957: “Tammy” 1957: “At the Hop” 1959: “Small World” 1959: “Climb Ev'ry Mountain” 1961: “Moon River” 1961: “Crazy” 1961: “At Last” 1963: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” 1963: “Blowin’ in the Wind” 1963: “Call Me Irresponsible” 1965: “Yesterday” 1965: “The Shadow of Your Smile (Love Theme from The Sandpiper)” 1967: “Camelot” 1967: “What a Wonderful World” 1968: “Hey Jude” 1968: “Mrs. Robinson” 1969: “My Way” 1970: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” 1970: “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” 1971: “American Pie” 1972: “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” 1973: “The Way We Were” 1977: “Night Fever” 1977: “Just the Way You Are” 1985: “That's What Friends Are For” 1985: “We Are the World” 1991: “Beauty and the Beast” 1992: “I Will Always Love You” 1997: “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)” 1997: “My Heart Will Go On” Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Lists from other publications and/or organizations” AmericanMusicPreservation.com “American Music Timeline Part One: 1620-1818” AmericanMusicPreservation.com “American Music Timeline Part Two: 1822-1920” AmericanMusicPreservation.com “American Song History Survey: 1759-1959” AmericanMusicPreservation.com “A Century of American Songs (1861-1961)” AmericanMusicPreservation.com “100 Songs of the 20th Century” First posted 2/13/2025.

On This Day in Music (1847): “Oh! Susanna” first performed

Oh! Susanna Stephen Foster (words & music)

Writer(s): Stephen Foster (see lyrics here) First Performed: September 11, 1847 Published: February 25, 1848 First Charted: July 19, 1924 (Wendell Hall & the Shannon Four) Peak: 8 PM (Hall) (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 19.48 video, 16.63 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Stephen Foster is often referred to as “the Father of American Music.” BA The Pennsylvania-born songwriter wrote over 200 songs during his short 37 years. BA He was 18 when he published his first song, “Open They Lattice, Love” MF and 21 when he composed “Oh! Susanna,” which has been called “the first huge hit song in American popular music” BA and “one of the most famous American songs ever written.” WW It became the theme for the Forty-Niners during the California Gold Rush. TR Author William Studwell called it “the prospector’s and pioneer’s most pleasurable traveling companion.” WS Foster wrote the song in Cincinnati, Ohio, after moving there to work as a bookkeeper for his brother’s steamship company. WW The song was first performed by a local quintet at a concert in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at Andrews’ Eagle Ice Cream Saloon on September 11, 1847. WW It was first published in Cincinnati in 1848 by W.C. Peters & Co., WW a local music store. SA It was copyrighted by C. Holt Jr. on February 25, 1848. JF The song gained popularity through performances by the Christy Minstrels in Manhattan, becoming the first minstrel song to infiltrate the middle-class market. SA Within three years, more than 20 editions of the sheet music – mostly illegal – had spread throughout the United States, making it difficult to say just how successful the song was. MF However, the original publisher still made $10,000 MF and Foster said the $100 he received for the song “had the effect of starting me on my present vocation as a songwriter.” BA Firth, Pond & Company then hired him at a royalty rate of two cents per copy of sheet music sold, making him America’s first professional songwriter. WW The song “became emblematic of Westward expansion,” BA having been embraced by ‘49s during the California gold rush and others who headed west during the mid-19th century. BA The name “Susannah” may come from Foster’s sister Charlotte, who died, but had the middle name “Susannah.” WW The chorus of the song bears similarities to “Rose of Alabama” and both songs tell stories about lovers traveling from one state in the South to another, looking for his sweetheart and carting a banjo around along the way. WW Foster’s works were inspired by and often mistaken for Negro spirituals “with their smoother and more accessible melodies than the intricate, opera-inspired tunes of the time.” MF He only visited the South once, but many of his songs portrayed black people and slave life. They were often performed by minstrel singers in blackface. BA “Oh! Susanna” was written in the dialect of blacks who worked on plantations. While common at the time, today’s standards deem such lyrics “extremely racially offensive.” BA Foster even became aware of this when white, middle-class Americans grew more sympathetic to those suffering in slavery as the country moved towards Civil War. Foster later worked to replace the dialect in his earlier songs with verses in standard English. BA The song has only charted once. Wendell Hall & the Shannon Four reached #8 with their cover in 1924. It has been covered by The Byrds, Bing Crosby, Vernon Dalhart, Connie Francis, Jewel, Al Jolson, Taj Mahal, Mitch Miller, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Pete Seeger, Nat Shilkret, Dinah Shore, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Fats Waller, and Neil Young. Resources: BA BalladOfAmerica.org JF James J. Fuld (2000). The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk. Dover Publications: Mineola, NY. Dover Publications: Mineola, NY. Pages 404-5. MF MentalFloss.com (7/29/2008). “10 Candidates for the World’s First Pop Song” by Mark Juddery TR Theodore Raph (1986). The American Song Treasury: 100 Favorites. Dover Publications, Inc.: Mineola, NY. Pages 112-113. SA SongOfAmerica.net WS William Studwell (1997). The Americana Song Reader. The Haworth Press, Inc.: Binghampton, NY. Page 55. WW WesternWriting.com (2022). “Western Writers of America choose the all-time best Western songs” Related Links: First posted 8/30/2023; last updated 12/18/2025.