100px|Sheet music cover of "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"

"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" was among the best-selling songs of the 19th century in terms of sheet music sold. Written and composed by American songwriter Paul Dresser, it was published by the Tin Pan Alley firm of Howley, Haviland & Co. in October 1897. The lyrics of the ballad reminisce about life near Dresser's childhood home by the Wabash River in Indiana. It remained popular for decades and the Indiana General Assembly adopted it as the official state song on March 14, 1913. The song was the basis for a 1923 film by the same title. Its longtime popularity led to the emergence of several different lyrical versions, including an 1898 anti-war song and a Swedish version that was a number one hit. The song was composed during a transitory time in musical history when songs first began to be recorded for the phonograph. It was among the earliest pieces of popular music to be recorded. Dresser's inability to control the distribution of phonograph cylinders led him and his company to join other composers to petition the United States Congress to expand federal copyright protections over the new technology. (more...)

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Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Banks_of_the_Wabash%2C_Far_Away

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1801:

The Kingdom of Ireland formally merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain, adding St. Patrick's saltire to the Union Flag. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_Union_1800

1808:

As a result of the lobbying efforts by the Abolitionist Movement, the importation of slaves into the United States was officially banned, although slavery itself was not yet abolished. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/slavery_in_the_United_States

1810:

Lachlan Macquarie became Governor of New South Wales, eventually playing a major role in the shaping of the social, economic and architectural development of the colony in Australia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachlan_Macquarie

1959:

Cuban President Fulgencio Batista fled to the Dominican Republic as forces under Fidel Castro took control of Havana, marking the end of the Cuban Revolution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution

1983:

The ARPANET changed its core networking protocols from NCP to TCP/IP, marking the beginning of the Internet as we know it today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

anacrusis (n): 1. (prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse 2. (music) an unstressed note or notes before the first strong beat (or downbeat) of a phrase http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anacrusis

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

All we do our whole lives is go from one little piece of Holy Ground to the next. --J. D. Salinger http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._D._Salinger