Today in Music (1955): Mitch Miller “The Yellow Rose of Texas” hit #1

The Yellow Rose of Texas Mitch Miller

Writer(s): Don George, traditional (see lyrics here) Released: July 11, 1955 First Charted: July 25, 1955 Peak: 16 US, 16 BA, 16 DJ, 16 JB, 19 HP, 17 CB, 17 HR, 2 UK, 16 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 53.40 video, 8.36 streaming (multiple versions)

Awards (overall): Click on award for more details. Awards (Mitch Miller):

About the Song: “The Yellow Rose of Texas” was a century old when Mitch Miller took his rendition to the top of the charts. The song was first published in Philadlephia in 1853 in the songbook Christy’s Plantation Melodies No. 2, a collection of songs performed by the Christy’s Minstrels, a blackface minstrel show founded by Edwin Pearce Christy. The song was originally uncredited and had not sheet music. WK In 1858, someone known only as “J.K.” revised the lyrics and added piano accompaniment. In 2010, research uncovered that “J.K.” was John Kelly, a member of Christy’s Minstrels. It may be that he was the original writer as well. WK The song is written from the perspective of an African-American singer referring to himself as a “darkey.” He wants to go home to a “yellow girl,” a term for a light-skinned or biracial woman with African-American and European-American heritage. WK The 1858 version of the song changed the words “yellow girl” to “yellow rose.” WK It later became “a popular Confederate marching song during the Civil War.” DJ Gene Autry and Jimmie Long recorded the song in 1933 as a cowboy song with some changes to the lyrics, namely removing racial references. Roy Rogers performed it in the 1944 film of the same name. WK In 1955, composer and arranger Don George gave it “an exciting march beat.” TY2 His version appeared on a collection of Civil War songs, which is how it came to the attention of Miller. He was an orchestra conductor and record company executive at Columbia who was born in 1911 in Rochester, New York. He’d provided the back-up orchestra for some hits by Guy Mitchelland Frankie Laine. “Yellow Rose,” however, was done under his own name. He gave the song a new arrangement with an “exciting snare drum part.” T2 The song might never have seen release if it weren’t for Miller’s status with the record company. He ordered 100,000 copies of the single, promising to buy back all copies at cost if they didn’t sell. WK It sold more than a million copies and topped multiple U.S. pop charts and ranked in the top five on Billboard, Cash Box, and Variety year-end lists. TY2 That same year, Johnny Desmond (#3), Ernest Tubb (#7), and Stan Freberg (#16) also charted with the song. It was used in the 1956 James Dean Texas-based movie Giant. Elvis Presley included it as part of a medley in his 1964 film Viva Las Vegas. Hoyt Axton, Pat Boone, Bing Crosby, Mantovani, Willie Nelson and others also recorded versions. WK The Western Writers of America chose “Yellow Rose” as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. WK It is an unofficial state song of Texas (the official song is “Texas, Our Texas”). WK Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 219. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 338-9. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/12/2023; last updated 12/2/2025.

50 years ago: Bing Crosby “Don’t Fence Me In” hit #1

Don’t Fence Me In Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters

Writer(s): Cole Porter, Robert Fletcher (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 25, 1944 Peak: 18 US, 14 GA, 18 HP, 9 RB, 112 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This song about “a footloose and fancy-free kind of person who refuses to settle down” TY1 was considered uncharacteristic for songwriter Cole Porter. Not only does it lack the “sophistication of most of his lyrics” TY1 but it does not “seem especially clever or debonair.” TY1 Porter even called it his least favorite of his compositions. WK Then again, the song wasn’t entirely his. Robert Fletcher, a Montana engineer with the Department of Highways, wrote a poem, which would seem to be “Open Range” from his 1934 book Coral Dust, and Porter bought the rights for $250. WK Porter used some of the phrases to fashion “Don’t Fence Me In”. TY1 The song was written in 1934 for the never-released film Adios Argentina. The song resurfaced when Roy Rogers and the Andrews Sisters performed it in the film Hollywood Canteen. TY1 Rogers performed the song again in the 1945 film Don’t Fence Me In and it was also featured in 1946’s Night and Day, a tribute to Cole Porter’s life and his music. TY1 Kate Smith introduced the song to many new listeners on her October 8, 1944, radio broadcast. WK Meanwhile, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters recorded a version of the song in a mere thirty minutes on July 25, 1944. WK They released the song as a single. All told, the pairing made for 23 chart appearances, hitting #2 on five occasions. This was the bigger of their two songs which hit #1. The other, “A Hot Time in the Town of Berlin”, had charted only a couple of months earlier and topped the charts for six weeks. PM “Fence” and 1943’s “Pistol Packin’ Mama” were also million sellers. PM Resources: AMG All Music Guide DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 49. TY1 Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Pages 122-23. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 113. WK Wikipedia.org Related Links: First posted 11/25/2011; last updated 3/31/2023.