--- title: "This is how US Presidents almost got to choose their own entrance music" date: "2019-01-28" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/music/this-is-how-us-presidents-almost-got-to-choose-their-own-entrance-music/" categories: - "Entertainment" - "History" - "Music" --- # This is how US Presidents almost got to choose their own entrance music ![]() A Marine Corps band first played "Hail to the Chief" for Andrew Jackson as he walked off on his way to Ohio. It earned three cheers from his adoring crowd. After President John Tyler adopted it for his 1841-1845 term in office, the tradition stuck and American Presidents have been associated with the song ever since. --- But before that, they tried to choose a personal theme song. Thanks, John Tyler. ![]() *Admit that you don't know what John Tyler looks like.* George Washington almost had "Hail, Columbia" as his theme, with lyrics like "Let Washington's great name ring through the world to loud applause." And Jefferson tried to get "Jefferson and Liberty" as his theme song, with lyrics like "But join with heart and soul and voice, for Jefferson and Liberty!" Some Presidents had special songs written for their campaigns that would have worked as an entrance theme, like Warren Harding's "[Harding, You're the Man For Us]()," Richard Nixon's "[Nixon Now]()," Barack Obama's "[Yes We Can]()," and the ill-advised "[Get On the]()[ Raft With Taft]()." ![]() *He's fat. That's the joke.* In the January-February 2017 issue of Smithsonian Magazine, Abigail Tucker detailed the history of the song and how it came to be played for the President of the United States. In the early days of our nation, the general population wasn't too fond of the British. So when a theatrical version of the 1810 poem "Lady of the Lake" premiered in Philadelphia, it really caught on. The show was an epic historical story about the life of an anti-British elite who is destined for greatness but whose life is tragically cut short by a power hungry villain. The stage show was a musical production that American audience immediately fell in love with and soon the whole country was raving about the show and its songs. So it was basically the "Hamilton" of the 1800s. ![]() *Which sucks for the real Alexander Hamilton. You'd think he'd at least be considered, but Lin Manuel-Miranda is \*so\* talented.* After the War of 1812, anti-British sentiment was still riding high and even though "Lady of the Lake" was about an anti-British *Scotsman* it hardly mattered to Americans. He was an awesome character and that was enough. The lyrics were changed a number of times, however. Poetic olive trees eventually replaced Scottish pines and the hero of the song stopped murdering British people. ![]() *I bet May dies fighting* Eventually, people completely forgot the official lyrics of the song. Today the Defense Department mandates that "Hail to the Chief" only be played by the Marine Corps band in B-flat major and only for a sitting President in a "stately context" and at Presidential funerals. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()