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The United States Marine Band: Hail to the Chief

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  • John Quincy Adams and Music

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    Sheet music, from The Lady of the Lake, 1812.

    Music Division, Library of Congress

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  • Official 1993 White House Christmas Ornament

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    President John Tyler was accompanied by "Hail to the Chief" after First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler instructed the Marine Band to play it whenever the president made an official appearance.

    White House Historical Association
  • Official 1994 White House Christmas Ornament

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    First Lady Sarah Polk made Hail to the Chief official in announcing the president's entrance to an event. On this 1994 White House Christmas ornament, the band and the Polks are shown on the South Grounds of the White House.

    White House Historical Association

"Hail to the Chief," with its preceding fanfare Ruffles and Flourishes, is traditionally played to announce the arrival of the president at official functions. The melody was based on an old Gaelic air, and adapted from Sir Walter Scott’s poem, The Lady of the Lake. "Hail to the Chief" is attributed to English composer James Sanderson. The song was already very popular when the Marine Band played it at the laying of the cornerstone for the first lock of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on May 29, 1829, in the presence of President Andrew Jackson. This was the first documented performance of the song for a sitting president. Two first ladies are credited with using Hail to the Chief to announce the arrival of the president at an official event—Julia Tyler and Sarah Polk. In 1954, the Department of Defense created an official policy that made "Hail to the Chief" a tribute to the President of the United States.

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