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HAIL TO THE CHIEF
Hail to the Chief is the theme for the President of the United
States, but the song did not originate as a presidential march.
The piece was originally created for the stage adaptation of
Sir Walter Scott's poem, The Lady of the Lake, written
by English composer James Sanderson, and derived from an old
Scottish Anthem.
The song has lyrics and was first performed
in the United States in 1812. New lyrics were written, and it
was re-titled Wreaths for the Chieftain, and first played
in 1815, in Boston, to celebrate the birthday of George Washington.
On July 4, 1828, the Marine Band performed the song at a ceremony
for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which was attended by President
John Quincy Adams. This was the first time the song was performed
in the presence of a seated president.
The second wife of President John Tyler,
was an amateur musician and composer. She, Julia, reportedly
asked the Marine Band to announce the president's arrival by
performing the song which by this time had been renamed Hail
to the Chief.
In the following administration, Sarah
Polk instructed the Marine Band to use the song to announce her
husband, and it was used ever since.
President Chester Arthur did not feel
that the music was dignified, and asked John Philip Sousa, then
conductor of the Marine Band, to compose a different fanfare.
Sousa wrote, Presidential Polonaise, but it never caught
on and was again replaced by Hail to the Chief in the
Cleveland administration.
It was not until 1954 that the Department
of Defense established Hail to the Chief as the official
music to announce the President of the United States.
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