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The United States Marine Band: Hail to the Chief

How Long? 1 minute

Gallery

  • John Quincy Adams and Music

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

    Music Division, Library of Congress
  • White House Christmas Ornament: 1993

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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
  • White House Christmas Ornament: 1994

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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

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Hail to the Chief, with its preceding fanfare Ruffles and Flourishes, is traditionally played to announce the arrival of the president at state functions. Derived from an old Gaelic air, Hail to the Chief was used in James Sanderson's musical play of 1812, The Lady of the Lake. The song was already very popular when the Marine Band played it from a barge for the opening of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on July 4,1828, in the presence of President John Quincy Adams. First Lady Sarah Polk made Hail to the Chief official in announcing the president's entrance to an event. The band honors the president with the song hundreds of times a year at ceremonial and diplomatic events.

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