Early Campaign Songs for Presidents from Tennessee

Three American presidents, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson became president while living in the Volunteer State. All three of these men were honored—or attacked—in contemporary political songs. The Center for Popular Music holds a number of examples of contemporary songsters or sheet music related to campaign songs that were used by presidential candidates from Tennessee.

Note: Clicking on each image below will take you to the catalog record for the item in the collections of the Center for Popular Music.

Tennessee’s first resident of the White House was Andrew Jackson. Jackson used the popular approach of employing a catchy song as the theme for his campaign for president in 1824. His choice, "Hunters of Kentucky," was a ballad that recounted his military success over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. The popular British song "The Unfortunate Miss Bailey" provided the melody for 'Hunters of Kentucky." This example of "Miss Bailey" is from circa 1804.