The Fiddle Tune

“Eighth of January” is probably one of the most recognized fiddle melodies. This is likely due to the popularity of hit recordings by Jimmie Driftwood and Johnny Horton made in 1959 named “The Battle Of New Orleans.” On these records, lyrics were added to an old fiddle tune named “Jackson’s Victory.” The original melody was conceived to celebrate General Andrew Jackson’s famous rout of the British at New Orleans on January 8th, 1815. However, Jackson's reputation suffered in the years after his Presidency, and over time, the title was "adjusted" to commemorate the event rather than the man. There is not much agreement among folk historians as to whether the melody was indeed original, or had been refashioned from an existing tune. Most versions that you will hear today are in the key of D, but as would be expected of an older tune like this, there are lots of variations, swapping of the A and B parts, and the adding of extra parts. 

The Battle

General Jackson’s victory was won by a small and poorly equipped American army against eight thousand front-line British troops in the waning days of the War of 1812. This achievement was cause for a national celebration, and was widely seen as legitimizing the fledgling United States as a world power. Some, however, believe that the battle was not necessary because the War of 1812 was “over.” But, while it is true that American and British negotiators signed a peace treaty between their two nations in Ghent on December 24, 1814, the news of the treaty had not reached the shores of the United States by January 8, 1815. In addition, the Treaty of Ghent was not ratified by Congress until February 16, 1815. (ed.: as so well put by Yogi Berra, “It ain't over till it’s over.”) General Jackson became a national hero due to the fame of this battle, and would use this to help him become the 7th President of the United States in 1829, serving two terms until 1837. 

The 1959 Recordings

In 1936, while working as a school teacher in Arkansas, Jimmie Driftwood (James Morris) wrote the lyrics to “The Battle of New Orleans” to help his students learn history, matching the words (10 verses!) to the fiddle tune. He was a prolific songwriter, writing more than 6000 songs, including “Tennessee Stud” and one Old Time players will certainly recognize, “I’m Gonna Go A-Hunting For The Buffalo” (“Hunting The Buffalo.”) “The Battle of New Orleans” was recorded in 1957 and released on Driftwood’s 1959 album “Newly Discovered Early American Folk Songs.”

In June of 1959, Johnny Horton became a household name with his release of “The Battle of New Orleans,” reaching number one on both the country and pop charts, and remaining there for six weeks.  Altogether, it stayed on the charts for 21 weeks, sold nearly three million copies, and was the song of the year Grammy award winner for 1959. Horton’s version was much shorter than Driftwood’s original, and deleted controversial words such as “damn” and “hell.” In an intriguing marketing strategy, Horton also released a more “friendly” alternate lyrics version for the British market.

Learn more about two more tunes with January dates as their titles: “9th of January” and “28th of January.”

The Battle Of New Orleans

Jimmie Driftwood

1959