Ballad of America: Top 40 Songs

Ballad of America: Top 40 Songs

According to their website, Ballad of America is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to the preservation and celebration of music from American history. Their website features a music library of 40 titles, in alphabetical order, that represent American history. The website provides links to each song that offer more detailed backgrounds on the songs. Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations. 1. “Across the Western Ocean” (19th century) 2. “America the Beautiful” (1895) 3. “American Taxation” (1811) 4. “The Battle Cry of Freedom” (1862) 5. “Brave Wolfe” (late 1790s) 6. “The Brazos River” (1942) 7. “Buffalo Gals (Will You Come Out Tonight)” (1844) 8. “The Crawdad Song” (1917) 9. “Dem Golden Slippers” (1879) 10. “The Distressed Damsel” (1680s) 11. “Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)” (1835) 12. “Get on Board” (1872) 13. “Ho! For California!” (1849) 14. “Home on the Range” (1874) 15. “Home Sweet Home” (1823) 16. “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1846) 17. “Lincoln and Liberty” (1860) 18. “The Lovely Ohio” (1842) 19. “O! Say Bonny Lass” (1783) 20. “Oh Freedom!” (post-Civil War) 21. “Oh! Susanna” (1846) 22. “The Old Chisholm Trail” (1910) 23. “Old Settler’s Song” (1870s) 24. “Old Sister Phoebe” (first half of 19th century) 25. “Once More A-Lumbering Go” (1851) 26. “Paddy Works on the Railway” (1864) 27. “Railroad Bill” (1895) 28. “The Rambling Gambler” (1938) 29. “Red River Valley” (1896) 30. “Shenandoah” (1837) 31. “The Streets of Laredo” (1911) 32. “Swannanoa Tunnel” (1917) 33. “Sweet Betsy from Pike” (1851) 34. “Tenting on the Old Campground” (1864) 35. “This Little Light of Mine” (1925) 36. “Wanderin’” (1950) 37. “We Shall Not Be Moved” (1909) 38. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863) 39. “The Wisconsin Emigrant” (1931) 40. “Woried Man Blues” (1930) Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Lists from other publications and/or organizations” BalladOfAmerica.org First posted 12/18/2025.

Today in Music (1846): “Jimmy Crack Corn” published

Jimmy Crack Corn traditional

Writer(s): traditional/credited to Daniel Decatur Emmett (see lyrics here) First Published: January 20, 1846 First Charted: July 31, 1948 Peak: 24 BB (Burl Ives) (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.71 video, 0.73 streaming (multiple versions)

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Jimmy Crack Corn,” also known as “The Blue Tail Fly,” was first published by F.D. Benteen of Baltimore on January 20, 1846. JF It became popular as a blackface minstrel song performed by Daniel Decatur Emmett’s Virginia Minstrels. WK Emmett is generally credited with the song, although he may have simply arranged and published an African-American song that already existed. WK The opening notes are similar to “Miss Lucy Long,” published in 1842. JF The song grew out of the experience of slaves in the American South and their use of music and storytelling to connect and express emotions. AN It “reflects the hostility of slave towards master in Southern plantation society.” BA It “is a lively and spirited song that has endured over time as a testament to the creativity and resilience of African American culture.” AN “Cracking corn” was a phrase that referred to sitting around and gossiping. AN The song starts out with the singer, a house slave, being expected to protect his master and his horse from a blue-tailed fly. When he fails, the master is thrown from the horse and killed. The singer is charged with the death but eventually gains his freedom when the death is blamed on the blue-tail fly. WK The song isn’t without controversy as it is perceived as offering a simplistic view of slavery and that slaves were happy and carefree despite the oppression against them. AN The song has been viewed both as the slave lamenting over his master’s death and celebrating it. WK Abraham Lincoln is said to have requested the song be played at Gettysburg, where he delivered his famous address in November 1863. WS It was reportedly a favorite of his that he may have even played on harmonica. TR The song experienced a revival in the 1940s as a folk song and Burl Ives charted with it in 1948. It became a popular children’s song and campfire favorite. Big Bill Broonzy, Bob Dylan, Lead Belly, Tom Lehrer, and Pete Seeger are among those to record and perform the song. WK In 1959, Johnny & the Hurricanes recorded a instrumental version of the song called “Beatnik Fly” and reached #15 in the US and #8 in the UK. Resources: AN AllNurseryRhymes.com BA BalladOfAmerica.com JF James J. Fuld (2000). The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk. Dover Publications: Mineola, NY. Dover Publications: Mineola, NY. Page 312. TR Theodore Raph (1986). The American Song Treasury: 100 Favorites. Dover Publications, Inc.: Mineola, NY. Page 109. WS William Studwell (1997). The Americana Song Reader. The Haworth Press, Inc.: Binghampton, NY. Page 53. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/18/2025.