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"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the 1815 Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version scored number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1959 (see 1959 in music). ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959.〔Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1959〕 In ''Billboard'' magazine's rankings of the top songs in the first fifty years of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, "The Battle of New Orleans" was ranked as the twenty-eighth song overall〔(Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary – The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (30-21) )〕 and the number-one country music song to appear on the chart.〔(Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary – Top Billboard Hot 100 Country Songs )〕 Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. ==History== The melody is based on a well-known American fiddle tune "The 8th of January," which was the date of the Battle of New Orleans. Jimmy Driftwood, a school principal in Arkansas with a passion for history, set an account of the battle to this music in an attempt to get students interested in learning history.〔Collins, Ace. ''Songs Sung Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs'', p. 62-64.〕 It seemed to work, and Driftwood became well known in the region for his historical songs. He was "discovered" in the late 1950s by Don Warden, and eventually was given a recording contract by RCA, for whom he recorded 12 songs in 1958, including "The Battle of New Orleans."〔Collins, Ace. ''Songs Sung Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs'', p. 66-67.〕 "The Battle of New Orleans" is often played during North American sporting events, and is commonly heard during home games of the NHL's Calgary Flames. Original Horton 45 rpm discs of the song are now worth many times the original cost, partly because the price is inflated. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Battle of New Orleans」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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