The Last Long Mile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Last Long Mile", also known as the "Plattsburg Marching Song", is a First World War era marching song written in 1917. The song is attributed to Emil Breitenfeld, who wrote the song while serving as a lieutenant in the United States Army.

History[]

The Last Long Mile was originally composed by Emil Breitenfeld while the musician was training with the in Plattsburgh, New York.[1] The song—originally known as either The Long Last Mile or the Plattsburg Marching Song—quickly became popular with soldiers, and was presented along with other soldier's compositions to the . The board liked the song, and considered it one of the best songs to have been produced in soldier's camps.[1] The song was later featured in the first issue of Music in the Camps, an activity book produced for army and navy training camps.[1]

The song, now renamed The Last Long Mile, was later featured in Toot Toot, a musical compilation produced by Henry Wilson Savage and published by T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, Inc.[2][3]

Following the war and his exit from the army in 1919, Breitenfeld moved to California and wrote music for silent films and stage plays.[4] He was the father of Paul Desmond.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c The Singing Program of World War I: The Crusade for a Singing Army Author(s): E. Christina Chang Source: Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Oct., 2001), pp. 19-45 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
  2. ^ "The last long mile : Plattsburg marching song, 1917 :: Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Popular Sheet Music". digitalcollections.baylor.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  3. ^ "The last long mile". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  4. ^ "Emil Breitenfeld Papers, 1952-1959". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  5. ^ Ramsey, Doug (2004). Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond. Seattle, Wa.: Parkside Publications. p. 19. ISBN 978-0961726676.
Retrieved from ""