“Dixie” — the song and the term itself — has fallen on hard times.
Once a popular name for things from fairs and events as well as a catchy tune, the term has been a casualty of cancel culture.
The song was actually written in 1859 by Daniel Decatur Emmett for Bryant’s Minstrel Shows, a company that toured the country doing blackface shows.
It became popular and was played at Jefferson Davis’ inauguration in 1861. Emmett was from Ohio and as a staunch Union man, was outraged. It took him until he was in his 80s to appreciate the South’s love for the song and actually performed it on a farewell tour in 1895.
It’s also worth noting that President Lincoln had a band play “Dixie” outside the White House when news reached him that General Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Grant.
Emmett was no one hit wonder, having also penned “Jimmy Cracked Corn” and “Old Dan Tucker.” He never cashed in on the success of “Dixie,” having sold the rights to the publisher for $500.
Paramount Pictures did a movie based on his life in 1943. Bing Crosby played Emmett.
Sources:
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Greatest Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer
Nice one, Michael. Thanks.
Thanks!
Great blog! To think that the horn on the General Lee sold for just 500 bucks!!