American Crusaders
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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/ee1f3750-c556-0134-2373-0050569601ca-8Supplementary Document
Descriptive Information
Title | American Crusaders |
Composer | Belohlavek, Frances |
Lyricist | Belohlavek, Frances |
Publisher | Frances Clifford Music Co. Inc. |
Place of Publication | Chicago (Ill.) |
Year of Publication | 1919 |
Date of Copyright | 1919-01-02 |
Physical Description | 1 score ([1-2], 3-5, [1] p.) |
Comment | With at least two printings and intense promotion through much of 1919, this song was an enduring but modest success. As a “high-class” number, it was performed in the home, by civic organisations, and on the Chautauqua circuit, rather than vaudeville. The phrase “American Crusaders” became increasingly common through 1918 and was thereafter used or considered as a title by organisations ranging from the American Legion to the Ku Klux Klan. |
Historical Note |
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Musical Note | Despite suggestions of bugle calls and martial rhythms, this slow march song more resembles a march ballad or hymn (the verse marked “religioso” and the refrain, “grandioso”), with simple harmonies and subtle quotations of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” and (probably) “La Marseillaise.” The song was promoted as a high-class ballad, while the QRS piano roll was billed as a “March one-step.” |
Subject - Topic | |
Lyrics |
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Musical Genre | March song. |
Repository | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sousa Archives and Center for American Music |
Printer | Rayner, Dalheim & Co. (Chicago, IL) |
Cover Description | Silhouette of soldiers marching across empty battlefields, bearing the U. S. flag and led by a man on horseback, clouds in background, broken barbed-wire fence in front; the whole in an oval surrounded by four stars. Black on white; unsigned. |
Back Cover Description | Advertisement, “Three Wonderful Songs”: Samples for: To you dear (© 1917 11 02); Dreams (© 1918 11 23); When your pal’s away (© 1919 01 02). |
Interior Description | P[2] blank |
Performance Medium | Voice and piano |
Original Location |
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Local Identifier | 2014_12996_054 |
Collection Title | James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection, 1836-1986 |
Collection | James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection |
Download Options
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American Crusaders - Cover | |
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American Crusaders - Page 2 | |
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American Crusaders - Page 3 | |
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American Crusaders - Page 4 | |
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American Crusaders - Page 5 | |
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American Crusaders - Back Cover | |
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American Crusaders - Lyrics |