"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 (see 1959 in music). Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959, it was very popular with teenagers in the late 1950s/early 1960s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music.
Horton's version began with the quoting of the first 12 notes of the song "Dixie," by Daniel Emmett. It ends with the sound of an officer leading a count off in marching, as the song fades out.
In Billboard magazine's rankings of the top songs in the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "The Battle of New Orleans" was ranked as the 28th song overall[2] and the number-one country music song to appear on the chart.[3]
In 1959 at the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards, Johnny Horton won the Grammy for Best Country & Western Performance for his recording of "The Battle Of New Orleans".[5]. In 2002, the 1959 recording of the song by Horton on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[6]
The melody is based on a well-known American fiddle tune "The 8th of January," which was the date of the Battle of New Orleans. Jimmy Driftwood, a school principal in Arkansas with a passion for history, set an account of the battle to this music in an attempt to get students interested in learning history.[7] It seemed to work, and Driftwood became well known in the region for his historical songs. He was "discovered" in the late 1950s by Don Warden, and eventually was given a recording contract by RCA, for whom he recorded 12 songs in 1958, including "The Battle of New Orleans."[8]
Johnny Horton's 1959 version is the best-known recording of the song, which omits the mild expletives and many of the historical references of the original. Horton also recorded an alternative version for release in British Commonwealth countries, avoiding the unfavorable lyrics concerning the British: the word "British" was replaced with "Rebels," along with a few other differences.
Many other artists have recorded this song. Notable versions include the following:
In the United States, Vaughn Monroe's 1959 single competed with Horton's but did not achieve the same degree of success and became only a minor Hot 100 hit.
In Britain, Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group's 1959 version competed with Horton's and achieved greater success, peaking at number two. This version includes a spoken introduction, in which Donegan explains that the British were on the losing side.
Pete Seeger and Frank Hamilton recorded the song for their 1959 album Nonesuch and Other Folk Tunes.
The Germany-based Les Humphries Singers' 1972 hit, "Mexico," used the melody and parts of the lyrics, violating copyright by crediting the song to the British-born bandleader Les Humphries. In 1982 the Les Humphries Singers re-released a remixed version "Mexico" with different lyrics, which charted in the Netherlands. Another new release in 2006 contained the original lyrics again.
Country music parodists Homer and Jethro parodied "The Battle of New Orleans" with their song "The Battle of Kookamonga". The single was released in 1959 and featured production work by Chet Atkins. In this version, the scene shifts from a battleground to a campground, with the combat being changed to the Boy Scouts chasing after the Girl Scouts.
^ abBreihan, Tom (February 5, 2018). "The Number Ones: Johnny Horton's "The Battle Of New Orleans"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 5, 2023. ...but the biggest single of 1959...had nothing to do with rock 'n' roll. Instead, it was a novelty march...
^. Billboard. Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2009-07-08.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^. Billboard. Archived from the original on 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-04.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Clayton, Stew - My Canadian Home". Mocm.ca. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
Further readingedit
Collins, Ace. Songs Sung, Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs. HarperResource, 2003. ISBN0060513047
External linksedit
Tom Simon's Battle of New Orleans page
MIDI file of music (from Louisiana History, which includes Johnny Horton's lyrics)
Library of Congress page, includes a recording of "The Eighth of January"
January 01, 1970
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For other uses see Battle of New Orleans disambiguation The Battle of New Orleans is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle It has been recorded by many artists but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton His version scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 see 1959 in music Billboard ranked it as the No 1 song for 1959 it was very popular with teenagers in the late 1950s early 1960s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music The Battle of New Orleans Single by Johnny HortonB side All for the Love of a Girl ReleasedApril 6 1959Recorded1959GenreCountry novelty 1 march 1 Length2 33LabelColumbiaSongwriter s Jimmy DriftwoodProducer s Don LawJohnny Horton singles chronology When It s Springtime in Alaska It s Forty Below 1959 The Battle of New Orleans 1959 Johnny Reb 1959 Horton s version began with the quoting of the first 12 notes of the song Dixie by Daniel Emmett It ends with the sound of an officer leading a count off in marching as the song fades out In Billboard magazine s rankings of the top songs in the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart The Battle of New Orleans was ranked as the 28th song overall 2 and the number one country music song to appear on the chart 3 Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time 4 In 1959 at the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards Johnny Horton won the Grammy for Best Country amp Western Performance for his recording of The Battle Of New Orleans 5 In 2002 the 1959 recording of the song by Horton on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame 6 Contents 1 History 2 Chart performance 2 1 Weekly charts 2 2 Year end charts 2 3 All time charts 3 Other versions 3 1 Covers and remakes 3 2 Parodies 3 2 1 The Battle of Kookamonga 3 2 2 Other parodies 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksHistory editThe melody is based on a well known American fiddle tune The 8th of January which was the date of the Battle of New Orleans Jimmy Driftwood a school principal in Arkansas with a passion for history set an account of the battle to this music in an attempt to get students interested in learning history 7 It seemed to work and Driftwood became well known in the region for his historical songs He was discovered in the late 1950s by Don Warden and eventually was given a recording contract by RCA for whom he recorded 12 songs in 1958 including The Battle of New Orleans 8 Chart performance editWeekly charts edit Chart 1959 Peakposition Australian Singles Chart 1 Canadian CHUM Chart 9 7 weeks at 1 1 U K Singles Chart 16 Italian Singles Chart 20 U S Billboard Hot Country Singles 10 1 US Billboard Hot 100 11 1 U S Cash Box Top 100 12 1 Year end charts edit Chart 1959 Position U S Billboard Hot 100 1 U S Cash Box 13 2 South Africa Springbok 14 17 All time charts edit Chart 1958 2018 Position US Billboard Hot 100 15 37Other versions editCovers and remakes edit Johnny Horton s 1959 version is the best known recording of the song which omits the mild expletives and many of the historical references of the original Horton also recorded an alternative version for release in British Commonwealth countries avoiding the unfavorable lyrics concerning the British the word British was replaced with Rebels along with a few other differences Many other artists have recorded this song Notable versions include the following In the United States Vaughn Monroe s 1959 single competed with Horton s but did not achieve the same degree of success and became only a minor Hot 100 hit In Britain Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group s 1959 version competed with Horton s and achieved greater success peaking at number two This version includes a spoken introduction in which Donegan explains that the British were on the losing side Pete Seeger and Frank Hamilton recorded the song for their 1959 album Nonesuch and Other Folk Tunes The Royal Guardsmen covered the song on their 1966 album Snoopy vs the Red Baron Harpers Bizarre had a minor Hot 100 hit with their somewhat psychedelic version from their 1968 album The Secret Life of Harpers Bizarre Doug Kershaw recorded the song for his third LP Doug Kershaw in 1971 Sunny Ryder sang a version of the song in the 1971 spaghetti western A Town Called Hell Johnny Cash s version of the song is on the 1972 album America A 200 Year Salute in Story and Song The Germany based Les Humphries Singers 1972 hit Mexico used the melody and parts of the lyrics violating copyright by crediting the song to the British born bandleader Les Humphries In 1982 the Les Humphries Singers re released a remixed version Mexico with different lyrics which charted in the Netherlands Another new release in 2006 contained the original lyrics again Leon Russell s cover of the song is on his 1973 album Hank Wilson s Back Vol I Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had a minor Hot 100 hit with their version in 1974 Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen played a cover version of the song at their performance in New York City on September 14 1976 16 Dolly Parton performed the song on her 1976 1977 variety show Dolly 17 Bill Haley recorded a version in 1979 at his final recording sessions and it was released on his final album Everyone Can Rock and Roll The song features prominently in the 1982 film Veronika Voss directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Sha Na Na appropriately performed the song as a part of a War of 1812 themed skit on their show Cornershop covered the song as a bonus track for their 2009 album Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast Kingfish recorded a live version at their 1976 concert at the Beacon Theatre Kingfish in Concert released in 1996 Icelandic singer Erling Agustsson recorded a cover titled Vid gefumst aldrei upp We Never Give Up Les Claypool released a version on his 2014 Duo de Twang debut album Four Foot Shack with Bryan Kehoe Deep Purple included a version of the song on their 2021 covers album Turning to Crime Parodies edit The Battle of Kookamonga edit The Battle of Kookamonga Single by Homer and Jethrofrom the album Homer and Jethro at the Country ClubB side Waterloo Released1959GenreCountry ParodyLength2 38LabelRCA VictorSongwriter s Jimmy Driftwood J J Reynolds Country music parodists Homer and Jethro parodied The Battle of New Orleans with their song The Battle of Kookamonga The single was released in 1959 and featured production work by Chet Atkins In this version the scene shifts from a battleground to a campground with the combat being changed to the Boy Scouts chasing after the Girl Scouts Other parodies edit The Battle Of Queenston Heights by Mike Darow and the Chums 1959 18 Battle of Queenston Heights The Battle of the Waikato by Howard Morrison Quartet 1960 Deer Hunter s Lament by Stew Clayton 1973 19 The Mexican group El Tren recorded a parody titled La Batalla del Cinco de Mayo 1980 telling the events of Cinco de Mayo One verse of The Battle of All Saints Road by Big Audio Dynamite 1988 another verse parodies Duelling Banjos The White House Burned recounts the War of 1812 by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie 1991 Ballad of Hank Williams by Hank Williams Jr 1981 The New Battle of New Orleans recounting Hurricane Katrina by Ray Stevens 2005 The Ballad of Fetteh Shmeel by Country Yossi and the Shteeble Hoppers reworks the tune with a Jewish message on the 2005 LP Break Out The Falklands War Song is a version recounting the Falklands War from the British perspective See also editAmerican fiddleReferences edit a b Breihan Tom February 5 2018 The Number Ones Johnny Horton s The Battle Of New Orleans Stereogum Retrieved June 5 2023 but the biggest single of 1959 had nothing to do with rock n roll Instead it was a novelty march Archived copy Billboard Archived from the original on 2008 09 13 Retrieved 2009 07 08 a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Archived copy Billboard Archived from the original on 2008 10 08 Retrieved 2008 10 04 a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Western Writers of America 2010 The Top 100 Western Songs American Cowboy Archived from the original on 19 October 2010 https www grammy com artists johnny horton 13170 https www grammy com awards hall of fame award b Collins Ace Songs Sung Red White and Blue The Stories Behind America s Best Loved Patriotic Songs p 62 64 Collins Ace Songs Sung Red White and Blue The Stories Behind America s Best Loved Patriotic Songs p 66 67 CHUM Hit Parade June 1 1959 Whitburn Joel 2004 The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits 1944 2006 Second edition Record Research p 162 Johnny Horton Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved 31 August 2022 Cash Box Top 100 Singles July 25 1959 Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 26 1959 SA Charts 1965 March 1989 Retrieved 26 March 2020 Hot 100 turns 60 Billboard Retrieved August 6 2018 Concert Vault Live Concert Recordings Streamed Online Concerts wolfgangsvault com Retrieved 2016 08 29 Video on YouTube CHUM Hit Parade July 27 1959 Clayton Stew My Canadian Home Mocm ca Retrieved 2016 08 29 Further reading editCollins Ace Songs Sung Red White and Blue The Stories Behind America s Best Loved Patriotic Songs HarperResource 2003 ISBN 0060513047External links editTom Simon s Battle of New Orleans page MIDI file of music from Louisiana History which includes Johnny Horton s lyrics Library of Congress page includes a recording of The Eighth of January Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Battle of New Orleans amp oldid 1195870658, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
