Today in Music (1897): John Philip Sousa “The Stars and Stripes Forever” first performed publicly

The Stars and Stripes Forever John Philip Sousa

Writer(s): John Philip Sousa (music & lyrics) (see lyrics here) First Performed: May 14, 1897 First Charted: July 3, 1897 Peak: 18 PM (original), 13 (new 1901 version) (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 32.8 video, 2.38 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: John Philip Sousa was born in 1854 in Washington, D.C. He was the son of a trombonist in the U.S. Marine Band and was himself the director of the Marine Band from 1880-1892. He became “the nation’s most famous bandmaster” because of “his epic march compositions.” PM Marches were the favored musical form of dancers at the turn of the century, as the meter was perfect for the then “widly popular two-step dance.” TY2 After Sousa left the Marine Band, he led an ensemble identified simply as Sousa’s Band. They became “the nation’s most popular concert ensemble” TY2 – “the Elvis or Sinatra of his day.” NRR They made more than a thousand recordings TY2 and performing over 10,000 concerts around the world over the years. PM Interestingly, because of his disdain of what he called “canned music,” he rarely participated in recording, turning over conducting duties to others. The compositions, however, were often by him and “bore his distinctive, full-bodied musical style derived from the military and brass band traditions.” SS “The Stars and Stripes Forever” was not only Sousa’s most successful composition but the most successful march ever written. SS It was, however, inspired by tragedy. On November 8, 1896, he received a telegram that David Blakely, his partner with whom he’d formed Sousa’s Band, was dead. He was in Europe at the time and headed back to America on the ocean liner the SS Teutonic. He fought through his grief by celebrating Blakely’s optimistic spirit and writing a song about how blessed he was to have been born in the United States. By the time the ship docked in New York, he’d composed a fully arranged score in his head of what became “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” NRR He then wrote down the composition on Christmas Day in 1896. He wrote lyrics for it, but it became more popular as an instrumental. SS The first public performance of the song was in Philadelphia on May 14, 1897, for a Washingoton memorial dedication. SS The song became one of the most recorded songs of the pre-rock era with more than 100 versions. TY2 The song charted six times prior to the introduction of the Billboard Hot 100. Sousa’s original version and his 1901 remake both hit #1. He returned to #4 with the song in 1917. That version was recorded on December 13, 1912 and officially called “The Stars and Stripes Forever March.” Horace Heidt (#26, 1940), Frankie Laine (#20, 1950), and Ralph Flanagan (#28, 1950) were the others to chart with the song. PM Resources: NRR National Recording Registry (7/4/2021). “On the Recording Registry: ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’ (1897)” by Cary O’Dell SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 157-8. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 14-5. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 400-1 and 585. Related Links: First posted 1/31/2024; last updated 2/1/2024.

Today in Music (1895): “America the Beautiful” published

America the Beautiful Katharine Lee Bates (lyrics), Samuel A. Ward (music)

Writer(s): Katharine Lee Bates (lyrics) and Samuel A. Ward (music) (see lyrics here) Published: July 4, 1895 First Charted: July 11, 1925 Peak (different versions): 8 PM, 42 AC, 58 CW, 98 RB, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 28.74 video, 4.49 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details. Awards (Louise Homer): Awards (Ray Charles):

About the Song: Music historian Steve Sullivan says, “Next to Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land Is Your Land,’ perhaps no patriotic anthem is more powerful and moving than ‘America the Beautiful.’” SS In the 1920s, there was an effort to make it the national anthem before Congress decided on “The Star-Spangled Banner” instead. SS Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, WK was inspired to write the eventual song while on a train trip in 1893 to Colorado that included a stop in Chicago for the 400th anniversary of Columbus coming to America. The original title of her poem was “Pikes Peak” WK but, nearly two years later, when it was published on July 4, 1895 in a Boston church weekly called The Congregationalist, it was rechristened “America.” WK It wasn’t until 1904 that Samuel Augustus Ward, a church organist and choir director at Grace Church in Newark, New Jersey, put it to music. He based it on a melody he composed in 1882 to accompany lyrics for the hymn “O Mother Dear, Jerusalem,” later retitled “Materna.” WK It was finally given the title “America the Beautiful” in 1910. WK Bates continued revising it, publishing the final version in 1911. SS Sadly, Ward died in 1903 and never saw the fame the song gained. The song’s first chart appearance came in 1925 when Louise Homer took it to #8. Since then, the song has charted by Ray Charles (#98, 1972), Charlie Rich (#42 AC, 1976) and and an all-star country collective that included Vince Gill, Brenda Lee, Kenny Rogers, and others (#58, 2001). Sullivan says “the song received its definitive rendition in the magnificently souful performance of Ray Charles.” SS He “believed in the ideals it represented, and he sang it with passion and gospel-fired organ and piano, backed by a choir, and in so doing transformed, broadened, and elevated its meaning.” SS Critic Dave Marsh says Ray turns it “into a gorgeous, ironic, sweet-tempered sermon on the land he loves.” DM Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Katharine Lee Bates DMDB encyclopedia entry for Samuel A. Ward DMDB encyclopedia entry for Ray Charles DMDB encyclopedia entry for Louise Homer DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Pages 627-8. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 565-6. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. WK Wikipedia First posted 6/24/2024.

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.