BARRY LEVINE: ‘Grand Old Flag’ tune was spawned by chance encounter

EDITOR”S NOTE: This is the second of two columns focusing on patriotic music in America.

While you’re celebrating Memorial Day, please don’t forget the reason for the holiday is to honor the men and women who died while serving in the military. By making the supreme sacrifice, they have given us the freedom to celebrate the holiday.

A spirited march, “You’re a Grand Old Flag” was written by George M. Cohan in 1906 as a tribute to the American flag.

The original lyric reportedly came from an encounter Cohan had with a Civil War veteran. The two men found themselves next to each other and Cohan noticed the vet held a carefully folded but ragged old flag.

The man reportedly then turned to Cohan and said, “She’s a grand old rag.” Cohan thought it was a great line and originally named his tune “You’re a Grand Old Rag.” He later changed it to “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

“Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean” is a song which was popular during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, especially during the Civil War era.

The song functioned as an unofficial national anthem in competition with “The Star-Spangled Banner” until the latter’s formal adoption as the national anthem in 1931.

Sources generally agree that David T. Shaw, an actor, wanted a new patriotic song to sing at a benefit performance in 1843. He gained the assistance of fellow performer Thomas A. Becket Sr., who wrote the lyrics and melody for him.

Shaw published the song under his name, but Becket was able to prove he wrote the song by his original handwritten composition.

Another George M. Cohan song, “Over There,” was penned in 1917 and was extremely popular with U.S. soldiers in World War I and World War II. It was designed to get American young men to enlist in the military to fight the Germans,

Cohan said that the words and music to the song came to him while traveling by train from New Rochelle, N.Y., to New York City shortly after the U.S. had declared war against Germany in 1917.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt awarded Cohan the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal for his patriotic songs on June 29, 1936.

Samuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” also known as “America,” in 1831. The melody is the same as the national anthem of the United Kingdom, “God Save the Queen.”

The song served as a national anthem of the United States before the adoption of “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the official anthem.

The song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831, at a children’s Independence Day celebration in Boston. It was first published in 1832.

The “Marines’ Hymn” is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. It is the oldest official song in the United States Armed Forces.

The “Marines’ Hymn” is typically sung at the position of attention as a gesture of respect.

The lyrics are contained in the book “Rhymes of the Rookies” written by W.E. Christian and published in 1917. It consists of a series of poems regarding military life before World War I.

The Marines’ Hymn is a reminder of the sacrifice and courage that Marines have shown on the battlefield. It is an important part of Marine Corps culture — every Marine can recite its three stanzas by heart.

“This Is My Country” was composed in 1940 with Don Raye doing the lyrics and Al Jacobs the music.

The song was popularized in 1942 when recorded by Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians. Other popular versions of the song were recorded by the Mermen Tabernacle Choir and Tennessee Ernie Ford.

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” is considered to be the most famous song by composer John Philip Sousa. By a 1987 act of the Congress, it is the official National March of the United States.

Sousa wrote in his autobiography, “Marching Along,” that he composed the march on Christmas Day in 1896.

He was on an ocean liner en route home from a European vacation and had learned of the recent death of David Blakely, the manager of the Sousa Band.

He composed the march in his head and committed the notes to paper on arrival in the United States. It was initially performed at Willow Grove Park, near Philadelphia, on May 14, 1897, and immediately received a positive response.

“Anchors Aweigh” is the unofficial song of the U.S. Navy and the fight song of the Naval Academy.

Charles A. Zimmerman wrote the song in 1906 with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles.

When he composed “Anchors Aweigh,” Zimmermann had been bandmaster of the Naval Academy Band since 1887. Miles was midshipman at the Academy, Class of 1907, and asked Zimmermann to assist him in composing a song for that class, to be used as a football march.

This week in rock history — Chubby Checker won a Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording on May 29, 1962, for “Let’s Twist Again” and Albany’s Ray Charles won for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording for “Hit The Road Jack.” … ”Love Me Do” became The Beatles’ fourth No. 1 hit on May 30, 1964. … The Eagles released “One Of These Nights” on May 31, 1975. It became the second of their five No. 1 singles.

“The Battle Of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton hit the top of both the Country and Pop charts on June 1, 1959, where it remained for two months. The song was originally a poem written by a high school teacher in 1936. Horton’s version won a Grammy. … Ray Charles’ “I Can’t Stop Loving You” topped the Pop chart on June 2, 1962, making believers of those who told him he would lose his fan base if he recorded country songs. … A 31-year-old singer born Arnold George Dorsey was the talk of the music industry when he reached No. 4 with “Release Me” on June 3, 1967. No one had paid attention to him until his manager changed his stage name to Englebert Humperdinck, the name of the Austrian composer who wrote “Hansel and Gretel.”

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].