1087. When the Saints Go Marching In - with Lew Dite video

Another duet with Lew Dite. This video is dedicated to Pete Seeger. The song began as a gospel hymn called When the Saints are Marching In, written by Katherine Purvis in 1896, with music by James Milton Black. It was changed to its present form in 1927, and soon became a jazz staple. It was traditionally used as a funeral march in New Orleans, where it woud be played as a slow dirge as the coffin was carried to the cemetery, and then as an upbeat "Dixieland"-style tune on the way back. The New Orleans football team named themselves the Saints, after the song. Louis Armstrong was the first to popularise the song nationally in the 1930s, to the dismay of his sister who thought it was blasphemous to treat a church hymn as a jazz band tune. It was also brought into the rock and roll repertoire by Fats Domino and also by Bill Haley and His Comets. Others who have recorded it include The Weavers, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles, BB King, Dolly Parton and Bruce Springsteen.