The Big Easy List: The Battle of New Orleans

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But of course. I hope everyone knew this would be on the list. Like I’ve ever left it off a list where it fit??? No! As I said, I just can’t be that unpredictable. Sing along as we head to New Orleans today. The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton I suppose the only “surprise” would have been if I’d used Jimmie Driftwood’s version. I have used his version before (one of the “songs you may not have known were covers” lists). While I’m relying on the very well-known, Grammy-winning Johnny Horton version here, I’ll retell the story of how this song came to be. Born James Corbitt Morris, Jimmie Driftwood was a part time folk singer and full-time teacher in Arkansas. He combined the two frequently, writing songs to help pique his students’ interests. Driftwood composed this song, using the melody of an old fiddle tune called “The Eighth of January,” which was the day the Battle of New Orleans took place (in 1815…but they had to get there, so they really did arrive in 1814). Being a history teacher, Driftwood put a few facts in that wouldn’t have been appropriate in a hit song, such as the use of the words “hell” (which Horton cleverly edited in his version) and “damn.” Oh, yeah, and the fact that the soldiers celebrated defeating Colonel Edward Packenham’s British troops (Packenham was killed in the battle) with French prostitutes…. The song was a little long, too, so Horton worked with Driftwood to distill the song down to a suitable-for-50s radio (remember this when we get to tomorrow’s song) tune. The results were fabulous: a #1 country AND pop hit, a Grammy award, AND a parody (“The Battle of Kookamonga” by Homer and Jethro) that also won a Grammy that year. The only people who weren’t impressed were some English audiences. Rumor has it that Horton had a knife pulled on him by someone in England when he did the song. That prompted a version of the song from the British perspective (spoiler alert: the Brits still lost the battle and the war ). What a remarkable song! After years of floundering around as a regional star at the Louisiana Hayride, Johnny Horton was on his way to superstardom. Alas, 19 months after the song was released, Horton was dead, the victim of a drunk driver wreck outside of Austin, Texas. He was only 35. Jimmie Driftwood lived to the ripe old age of 91. Together they gave the world one of the most memorable historical ballads in music. The Battle of New Orleans Written by Jimmie Driftwood Recorded by Johnny Horton From The Spectacular Johnny Horton, 1959 NEW ORLEANS LYRICS: title We opened up our squirrel guns and really gave ‘em, well….: