National FLOTUS Day

The role of First Lady started in 1789 with Martha Washington, wife of the first U.S. President. When America was very young and the office of the President was still all very new, defining the role of First Lady leaned more toward the social norms of the day and as such, many early First Ladies’ roles were that of hostess and homemaker. Over the years of course, the role of First Lady has expanded greatly with such notable examples as Edith Bolling Wilson taking on numerous presidential duties following her husband’s stroke in 1919 and Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving First Lady who was noted for her travels on behalf of her husband, public engagement and advocacy of important causes leading to her appointment as 1st U.S. Representative to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights redefining the role of First Lady. Jacqueline Kennedy used her media savvy to help demystify the White House while bringing attention to the dilapidated condition of it and subsequent renovations to it with her Emmy-winning television tour of The People’s House in 1962.

John Philip Sousa famously served five U.S. presidents during his twelve-year tenure as director of The Marine Band and thankfully within the pages of his 1928 autobiography, some of his recollections include interactions with those current and future First Ladies. Mr. Sousa recounts two amusing stories; one of ‘missing food’ meant for his bandsmen at the behest of Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes and two, an evening White House function disappointing Mrs. James A. Garfield when only Mr. Sousa and one drummer appeared for an evening event after the band was dismissed following a full day’s schedule! This was the one and only time the Marine Band was to play at the White House during Garfield’s administration which was tragically cut short by an assassin’s bullet.

When Grover Cleveland became President in 1885, he was still a bachelor so his sister Rose Elizabeth Cleveland assumed the duties for fifteen months of First Lady or as Sousa states “White House hostess.” He goes on to say of Miss Cleveland: “If there ever lived a kindlier or more charming woman than Miss Cleveland, it has not been my lot to meet her.” Mr. Sousa would compose “Sandalphon Waltzes” in 1886 and dedicate them to her. While the title is lost to history, the waltzes survived and can be enjoyed here:

John Philip Sousa revered Mrs. Benjamin Harrison speaking very highly of her: “Mrs. Harrison impressed me with her kindhearted, considerate attitude toward those about her. She was, in every way, a splendid type of American womanhood, a personality never to be forgotten by the many who were privileged to know her.” Mr. Sousa apparently had the ear of the First Lady especially when it came to asking to take the Marine Band on tour which was previously approved by the Commandant of the Marine Corps and Sousa’s good friend, Benjamin Tracy, then Secretary of The Navy. Secretary Tracy suggested that Sousa see the President regarding the tour and before doing so, asked Mrs. Harrison who liked the idea of the tour, promising to speak to the President prior to Sousa’s meeting. The recounting of the President’s meeting went like this: “Mrs. Harrison tells me that you are anxious to make a tour with the band. I was thinking myself of going out of town, and,” – with a smile, – “it would be tough on Washington if both of us were away at the same time. I have thought over, and I believe the country would rather hear you, than see me; so you have my permission to go.”

Like Miss Rose Cleveland in 1886, another First Lady was favored with a musical dedication by The March King and this time, in 1897. The recipient was Ida Saxton McKinley, wife of President William McKinley and the work was a set of waltzes titled “The Lady Of The White House.” This was perhaps the first time in Mr. Sousa’s career when ‘Sousa, The Recycler’ (my pet name for him thanks to his successful reuse of compositional material) came back to haunt him. Originally, “The Lady Of The White” was first published in 1884 as “Intaglio Waltzes” and dedicated to Miss Dora Miller, daughter of Mr. Sousa’s friend and Senator John Miller of California. While Mr. Sousa did know then Congressman William McKinley during his Marine Band tenure, the 1897 revision and rededication to Mrs. McKinley is unknown; however, she did give permission to Sousa to do so. “The Lady Of The White House” was one of three Sousa compositions contracted by The Curtis Publishing Company, owners of The Ladies Home Journal, which saw wide distribution through its sales. The other two works were “The Manhattan Beach March” in the Christmas issue in 1893 and “The Colonial Dames Waltzes” in the April, 1896 edition. It was brought to Mrs. McKinley’s attention after publication that her set of Sousa waltzes came by proxy due to the earlier dedication and afterwards, the work fell from favor and saw infrequent performances by Sousa’s Band from 1924 to 1926. It also saw sporadic renderings under its former title from 1893 to 1896. The January 1898 issue of The Ladies Home Journal not only featured Mr. Sousa’s “The Lady Of The White House” within but also graced the cover with an official White House portrait of the First Lady. [Fig. 1, 2]

[Fig. 3] Recently, a pirated edition of the waltzes surfaced and although undated, features an image of John Philip Sousa from about the time it was dedicated to Mrs. McKinley. 

Here’s a band edition of an unidentified ensemble performing “Intaglio Waltzes” —

[Fig. 4] Finally, the last Sousa composition dedicated to a First Lady was “The Golden Star,” a 1919 memorial dirge to Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt. Although Mr. Sousa’s inscription was “In memory of brave who gave their lives that liberty shall not perish,” it was composed in memory of her recently deceased husband and their beloved son Quentin, who was killed in France during The Great War. Paul Bierley recounts a performance by Sousa’s Band in Reno, Nevada that when the quotation of “Taps” was heard, grief-stricken women began to sob so loudly that band members recalled “the band could scarcely hear itself play.” As time passed, it was withdrawn from Sousa Band repertoire. As a part of The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa, here is the powerfully moving performance by the U.S. Marine Band on this, National First Ladies Day: