The Yellow Rose of Texas
The Yellow Rose of Texas is a Folk - Traditional , which in the first half of the 19th century by a composer was written, only the initials "JK" have been handed down from the. The piece became famous in a 1955 version recorded by Mitch Miller , which became a number one hit in the USA .
Origin of the song
The first handwritten version of the song is in the archives of the University of Texas and is believed to date from around 1836, when the Battle of San Jacinto took place. The first printed edition of the text appeared in a songbook published in Philadelphia in 1853 , and the first sheet music edition appeared in New York City in 1858 . Only the initials "JK" were given as the author. The piece is said to have originally been written for the very popular minstrel shows in the mid-19th century . During the Civil War , it was used under different versions by both warring factions, including The Gallant Hood of Texas and The Song of the Texas Rangers .
Version by Mitch Miller
Bill Randle, a DJ from Cleveland , had the idea to record the song as a pop song in the early 1950s . This grabbed Don George and arranged it with a march - rhythm . In this version it appeared on a compilation of songs from the American Civil War. This in turn aroused the interest of Mitch Miller , who rearranged the piece again and provided it with a marching drum . It was the first time that the marching drum was used in pop music. Satisfied with his version of the piece, Miller had 100,000 singles pressed. The record company Columbia Records protested against this single-handedly Miller, and he bought the label of the singles for 15 cents per share from. He did not regret this step, because the single reached number 1 in the US charts on September 3, 1955 and sold over 1 million copies.
See also
literature
- Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 5th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-8230-7677-2 , pp. 2 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Jeffrey D. Dunn, James Lutzweiler: The Yellow Rose of Texas. In: Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association, accessed October 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . P. 2.