Patriotic American Music

Patriotic American Music

Sheet music, at the height of its popularity during the first two decades of the 20th century, appeared in various formats, generally costing 10 - 15 cents per copy. Some of the country's greatest composers made names for themselves during these years -- George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin.

Nearly 10,000 arrangements related to the Great War were published between 1914 and 1920; the Woolworth chain alone sold 150 million copies per year.

Compositions highlighted patriotic duty, the camaraderie of soldiers, and the sorrow, worry, and pride of the mothers, wives, and children at home.

The most successful of these music publishers was Leo Feist. In one advertisement in the New York Times, under the heading "Music Will Help Win the War," Feist wrote, "A nation that sings can never be beaten...Songs are to a nation's spirit what ammunition is to a nation's army." Major-General Leonard Wood endorsed Feist's songs, saying "It is just as essential that the soldiers know how to sing as it is that they carry rifles and know how to shoot them."

"We're All Going Calling on the Kaiser"
"Keep Your Head Down Fritzie-Boy"
"We'll Knock the Heligo out of Heligoland"
"I'd Like to See the Kaiser with a Lily in His Hand"