‘Hail to the Chief’: The Official Anthem of the U.S. President A new display in the Maxwell Music Library calls attention to the history of the official anthem of the U.S. President.
“Hail to the Chief” has been played for many years to announce the arrival, or to acknowledge the presence, of the President of the United States. The first presidential inauguration at which the march was played was President Martin Van Buren’s on 4 March 1837. The original lyrics (never now sung) are by Sir Walter Scott and first appeared in his poem The Lady of the Lake (1810), written in honor of a favorite chief of the highlanders of Scotland. The music is usually ascribed to “Mr. Sanderson,” apparently the English songwriter James Sanderson (1769-1841); however, the earliest printings (about 1812) are American. SOURCE: James J. Fuld. “Patriotic music.” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed January 5, 2017.