Washington and Lee Swing
Encyclopedia
Washington and Lee Swing is the official fight song of Washington & Lee University. Before it morphed into a swing, Dixieland
and bluegrass
standard, "The Washington and Lee Swing" was one of the most well known — and widely borrowed — football marches ever written, according to Robert Lissauer
's Encyclopedia of Popular Music in America. Schools and colleges from Tulane to Slippery Rock to Gonzaga to Iowa State copied it (sometimes with attribution). It was written in 1910 by Mark W. Sheafe, '06, Clarence A. (Tod) Robbins
, '11, and Thornton W. Allen, '13. It has been recorded by virtually every important jazz and swing musician, including Glenn Miller
(with Tex Beneke
on vocals), Louis Armstrong
, Kay Kyser
, Hal Kemp
and the Dukes of Dixieland
. "The Swing" was a trademark of the New Orleans showman Pete Fountain
. The trumpeter Red Nichols
played it (and Danny Kaye
pretended to play it) in the 1959 movie The Five Pennies
. (There is an audio excerpt from a 1944 recording by Jan Garber, a prominent dance-band leader of the era. School song from D & D's Music Hall.)
The "Swing" was parodied in "The Dummy Song" by Lew Brown and Ray Henderson. "Dummy" was recorded by NRBQ, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima and Glenn Miller's vocal jazz group, the Modernaires, among many others, and was used in the movie You've Got Mail.
It is a popular fight song of many schools, including: Glasgow High School
, in Glasgow, KY, Orange High School
, in Hillsborough, NC, Brookville High School in Brookville
, OH, Broken Arrow High School in Broken Arrow, OK, Roswell High School, in Roswell, GA, Freedom High School
, in Bethlehem, PA, York High School in Yorktown, VA, Kasson-Mantorville High School, in Kasson, MN, Milton High School
, in Milton, Wisconsin
, Owensboro High School
, in Owensboro, KY, Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, VA, Norcross High School in Norcross,GA Fort Myers High School in Fort Myers, FL, Opp High School in Opp, AL, Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan, Guthrie Center High School in Guthrie Center, IA, Haleyville High School in Haleyville, AL, Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, MS, Owensville High School in Owensville, MO, Canyon High School in Anaheim, CA, Medford Area Senior High, WI, Russell High School in Russell, KY, Garinger High School in Charlotte, NC, East Fairmont High School in Fairmont, WV, Wayne High School in Huber Heights, OH, Wickliffe High School in Wickliffe, OH,United Local High School
in Hanoverton, Ohio
, Noble High School in Noble, OK, Seguin High School in Seguin, TX, Yorktown High School in Yorktown, TX, Charles F. Brush High School
in Lyndhurst, Ohio Wooster High School in Wooster, OH, Wayne County High School
in Jesup, GA, Benedictine Military School
in Savannah, GA, Fayette High School in Fayette, MO, Maryville High School in Maryville, MO, Lindbergh High School
in St. Louis, MO, Mountain Home High School
in Mountain Home, Arkansas
, Putnam City High School, Warr Acres, OK (N.W. OKC metro area), Tekamah-Herman High School in Tekamah, NE and Madison Consolidated High School
in Madison, IN. The CFL's Edmonton Eskimos
also use it as their fight song. The tune is also used by many summer camps as their "camp song" most notably the "Camp Rotary Song" written in 1945 by Camp Director Dr. Emil R. Pfister, for Camp Rotary Boy Scout Camp near Clare, Michigan.
Comparisons between "Washington and Lee Swing" and "Zacatecas March
" have included allegations that "Washington and Lee Swing" was heavily influenced by (or even originally outright borrowed from) that earlier Mexican
march, which had been written in 1891 by Genaro Codino.
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
and bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
standard, "The Washington and Lee Swing" was one of the most well known — and widely borrowed — football marches ever written, according to Robert Lissauer
Robert Lissauer
Robert Lissauer was an American composer, author, and musicologist.Born in New York City Lissauer attended the Juilliard School and then worked with Irving Berlin on his musical This Is the Army. From this production "Yanks A Poppin" was developed as a show that could be performed for troops in...
's Encyclopedia of Popular Music in America. Schools and colleges from Tulane to Slippery Rock to Gonzaga to Iowa State copied it (sometimes with attribution). It was written in 1910 by Mark W. Sheafe, '06, Clarence A. (Tod) Robbins
Tod Robbins
Clarence Aaron "Tod" Robbins was an American author of horror and mystery fiction. Robbins attended Washington and Lee University and—along with Mark W...
, '11, and Thornton W. Allen, '13. It has been recorded by virtually every important jazz and swing musician, including Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
(with Tex Beneke
Tex Beneke
Gordon Lee Beneke , professionally known as Tex Beneke, was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. His band is also associated with the careers of Eydie Gorme...
on vocals), Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Kay Kyser
Kay Kyser
James Kern Kyser was a popular bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early years:He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster Kyser. Editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin...
, Hal Kemp
Hal Kemp
James Harold "Hal" Kemp was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He was born in Marion, Alabama and died in Madera, California following an auto accident...
and the Dukes of Dixieland
Dukes of Dixieland
Dukes of Dixieland was a New Orleans dixieland revival band formed in 1948 by brothers Frank Assunto, trumpet; Fred Assunto, trombone; and their father Papa Jac Assunto, trombone and banjo. Their first records featured Jack Maheu, clarinet; Stanley Mendelsohn, piano; Tommy Rundell, drums; and...
. "The Swing" was a trademark of the New Orleans showman Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain , is an American clarinetist based in New Orleans. He has played jazz, Dixieland and Creole music.-Early life and education:...
. The trumpeter Red Nichols
Red Nichols
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols was an American jazz cornettist, composer, and jazz bandleader.Over his long career, Nichols recorded in a wide variety of musical styles, and critic Steve Leggett describes him as "an expert cornet player, a solid improviser, and apparently a workaholic, since he is...
played it (and Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
pretended to play it) in the 1959 movie The Five Pennies
The Five Pennies
The Five Pennies was a semi-biographical 1959 film starring Danny Kaye as cornet player and bandleader Red Nichols. Other cast members included Barbara Bel Geddes, Harry Guardino, Bob Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Susan Gordon, and Tuesday Weld...
. (There is an audio excerpt from a 1944 recording by Jan Garber, a prominent dance-band leader of the era. School song from D & D's Music Hall.)
The "Swing" was parodied in "The Dummy Song" by Lew Brown and Ray Henderson. "Dummy" was recorded by NRBQ, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima and Glenn Miller's vocal jazz group, the Modernaires, among many others, and was used in the movie You've Got Mail.
It is a popular fight song of many schools, including: Glasgow High School
Glasgow High School (Kentucky)
Glasgow High School is a U.S. high school in the city of Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky. It is the only public high school for the Glasgow Independent School System; however, Barren County High School, which serves the Barren County School System, also lies within the city limits, and in fact...
, in Glasgow, KY, Orange High School
Orange High School (North Carolina)
Orange High School is a high school in the northern area of Orange County, North Carolina.- Students and Faculty :Founded in 1963, Orange County High School educates 1009 students from the area around Hillsborough, NC....
, in Hillsborough, NC, Brookville High School in Brookville
Brookville, Ohio
Brookville is a small city in northwestern Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, an increase from 5,289 in 2000. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, OH, Broken Arrow High School in Broken Arrow, OK, Roswell High School, in Roswell, GA, Freedom High School
Freedom High School (Pennsylvania)
Freedom High School is a public high school, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. Freedom is one of two public high schools in the Bethlehem Area School District. It is located at 3149 Chester Avenue, Bethlehem Township.The total...
, in Bethlehem, PA, York High School in Yorktown, VA, Kasson-Mantorville High School, in Kasson, MN, Milton High School
Milton High School (Milton, Wisconsin)
Milton High School is a public high school located in the small town of Milton, Wisconsin with a population of approximately 5,588 people. Milton High School has about 80 staff members and 1040 students with graduating classes of 250 students. Jeremy Bilhorn is the Principal at MHS...
, in Milton, Wisconsin
Milton, Wisconsin
Milton is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,090 at the 2000 census .-History:The city was formed as a result of the 1967 merger of the villages of Milton and Milton Junction...
, Owensboro High School
Owensboro High School
Owensboro High School is a high school located at 1800 Frederica Street in Owensboro, Kentucky. The school's newspaper is The Scoop and its yearbook is the Owensboroan. Owensboro High School is one of only 33 high schools in Kentucky to be listed among the “Best High Schools 2009 Search” published...
, in Owensboro, KY, Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, VA, Norcross High School in Norcross,GA Fort Myers High School in Fort Myers, FL, Opp High School in Opp, AL, Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan, Guthrie Center High School in Guthrie Center, IA, Haleyville High School in Haleyville, AL, Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, MS, Owensville High School in Owensville, MO, Canyon High School in Anaheim, CA, Medford Area Senior High, WI, Russell High School in Russell, KY, Garinger High School in Charlotte, NC, East Fairmont High School in Fairmont, WV, Wayne High School in Huber Heights, OH, Wickliffe High School in Wickliffe, OH,United Local High School
United Local High School
United Local High School is a public high school in Hanoverton, Ohio, USA. It is the only high school in the United Local Schools district.-History:...
in Hanoverton, Ohio
Hanoverton, Ohio
Hanoverton is a village in Hanover Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 387 at the 2000 census.Hanoverton is home to the historic Spread Eagle Tavern, an inn/restaurant which has been visited by Abraham Lincoln, Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, and most recently John McCain,...
, Noble High School in Noble, OK, Seguin High School in Seguin, TX, Yorktown High School in Yorktown, TX, Charles F. Brush High School
Charles F. Brush High School
Charles F. Brush High School is a public high school in Lyndhurst, Ohio. The school is named for Charles F. Brush, the Ohio-born inventor of the arc light, an invention which, until recently, the school's student newspaper was named after....
in Lyndhurst, Ohio Wooster High School in Wooster, OH, Wayne County High School
Wayne County High School (Georgia)
Wayne County High School is located in Jesup, Georgia, USA, and is the only public high school in Wayne County, Georgia. This location replaced the original Wayne County High School on Orange Street and was completed in 2002...
in Jesup, GA, Benedictine Military School
Benedictine Military School
Benedictine Military School is a Benedictine, military, all-male high school located in Savannah, Georgia, United States...
in Savannah, GA, Fayette High School in Fayette, MO, Maryville High School in Maryville, MO, Lindbergh High School
Lindbergh High School (St. Louis, Missouri)
Lindbergh High School is the high school of the Lindbergh School District and is located at 4900 South Lindbergh Boulevard in St. Louis County, Missouri. Each year the high school graduates over 420 students. The school district encompasses Crestwood, Sunset Hills, Concord, and parts of Fenton,...
in St. Louis, MO, Mountain Home High School
Mountain Home High School (Mountain Home, Arkansas)
Mountain Home High School is a public secondary school in Mountain Home, Arkansas, located in Baxter County. Mountain Home High School is located at 500 Bomber Blvd. There are 875 students in grades 10, 11, and 12. Mrs. Dana Brown is the high school principal. Assistant principals are Mr. Ron...
in Mountain Home, Arkansas
Mountain Home, Arkansas
Mountain Home is a city in and the county seat of Baxter County, Arkansas, United States, in the southern Ozark Mountains.It was recently listed in the top 20 cities in the U.S. for sportsmen in the current edition of Outdoor Life magazine, was recently ranked #2 for Field and Stream's Best Fishing...
, Putnam City High School, Warr Acres, OK (N.W. OKC metro area), Tekamah-Herman High School in Tekamah, NE and Madison Consolidated High School
Madison Consolidated High School
The Madison Consolidated High School is a school, in Madison, Indiana, in the United States.-External References:*...
in Madison, IN. The CFL's Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
also use it as their fight song. The tune is also used by many summer camps as their "camp song" most notably the "Camp Rotary Song" written in 1945 by Camp Director Dr. Emil R. Pfister, for Camp Rotary Boy Scout Camp near Clare, Michigan.
Comparisons between "Washington and Lee Swing" and "Zacatecas March
Marcha de Zacatecas
The March of Zacatecas is a Mexican patriotic song, the anthem of the State of Zacatecas and considered the 2nd national anthem of Mexico.On 1891, in a family gathering at the home of Fernando Villalpando, there was a dare between Villapando and Genaro Codina, which consisted of writing a military...
" have included allegations that "Washington and Lee Swing" was heavily influenced by (or even originally outright borrowed from) that earlier Mexican
Music of Mexico
The music of Mexico is very diverse and features a wide range of different musical styles. It has been influenced by a variety of cultures, most notably indigenous Mexican and European, since the Late Middle Ages...
march, which had been written in 1891 by Genaro Codino.