[Dixielandjazz] Re: Any tune can be a dixieland tune (was Letter on Sacramento Jubilee)

[David Richoux]

Considering the fact that the TUNE for the Star Spangled Banner was a 
English drinking song (“To Anacreon in Heaven” a tongue-twister that 
was sung quickly as a gauge of how drunk you might be) there should be 
no reason not to jazz it up.

Other than the screams of outrage that would probably result ;-)

> John Stafford Smith, to whom the tune was attributed, was an important 
> English music historian, as well as a singer, organist and composer of 
> glees. Smith's melody originated as To Anacreon in Heav'n, sung at 
> each fortnightly meeting of London's Anacreontic Society, a club of 
> wealthy amateur musicians founded in 1766. Anacreon (c. 563-478 B.C.) 
> had been a classical Greek poet who wrote of love and wine:  Ralph 
> Tomlinson's six verses to Smith's ode each end with
>  "...[en-] twine /
>  the myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine."
> Full lyrics are here: http://www.ingeb.org/songs/toanacre.html
>  Smith's tune was popular in the American colonies: Robert Treat Paine 
> wrote Revolutionary words to it, Adams and Liberty. Franz Joseph Haydn 
> visited the Anacreontic Society in 1791. The club disbanded in 1794 
> when members resigned in protest after their president forbade the 
> performance of certain comic songs that might offend the visiting 
> Duchess of Devonshire.

BTW, I was at a local concert in the park last night to hear a 
bluegrass band called The Palmer Sisters (none of the band are women) 
and there are a lot of traditional and new bluegrass songs they that 
would easily be played in OKOM style...

Dave Richoux


On Aug 5, 2004, at 4:44 PM, Bill Haesler wrote:

> Dear Pat,
> You commented: "There are a lot of 'dixieland' tunes. Just about any 
> tune
> except Ave Maria or the Star Spangled Banner can be a dixieland 
> tune...."
> Wotcha mean ole mate?
> One of the greatest ever 'dixieland' versions of "The Star Spangled 
> Banner"
> was recorded on 10 April 1950 by Bob Crosby and His Bob Cats and 
> released on
> a Coral LP.
> Long overdue for CD reissue!
> Our little band (with cltist Jack Wiard) plays the tune regularly at 
> our
> Sunday arvo gig. To popular acclaim (particularly homesick Americans).
> Last week Jack trotted out his new opus - a Mozart medley.
> Perhaps "Ave Marie" could be next.
> 8>)
> Any tune can be a dixieland tune!
> Very kind regards,
> Bill.