Cities and towns have always been a favorite topic of songwriters and composers, and Indianapolis is no exception. This music tends to be formulaic. Song texts differ little except for the name of the locale and a few salient details, and most are sentimental and patriotic. Boosterism is a common theme, and tunes are of a musical style popular in the period they were written. Even though these topical pieces offer little that is unique, they do encapsulate contemporary feelings about a city, as shown by the following representative pieces about Indianapolis.
One early piece of music about the city is entitled “The Indianapolis Waltz.” Written by S. Ehrlich and dedicated to Alfred Moses, it is very much a piece of its time. Published in Philadelphia, it is undated, but the highly ornamented engraving style was common in music published between 1850 and 1875. Ehrlich and Moses do not appear in Marion County histories, so it is difficult to link this parlor piano piece to the city by anything other than its name. Isaac Doles (ca. 1853-1927), a well-known Indianapolis composer and performer on organ and piano, wrote “Back to Dear Old Indianapolis” in 1905. The highly sentimental song, subtitled a “patriotic waltz song and chorus,” could have been written about any city whose young men went off to war leaving hometown and sweethearts behind, only to die “on some distant island.” The piece, presumably about service in the Philippines or Cuba during the Spanish-American War, was republished again in 1918 because it described equally well.
State and city anniversaries are common themes for songs and music, as illustrated by Stella Hall Millikan’s “Indianapolis.” Written in 1916 to honor the centennial of Indiana’s statehood, the song is dedicated to “Indianapolis, No Mean City.” The cover artwork shows an outline of the state overlaid with U.S. flags and governors’ portraits from 1816 and 1916. The subtitle, “a booster song for the capital of Indiana,” accurately describes the contents of the text. In nine verses, Millikan mentions the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, celebrated authors, educational, cultural, and entertainment venues, business institutions, and the , , and newspapers. Unsurprisingly, two verses are devoted to the and the .
“Indianapolis, My Home Town,” a similar booster piece, was written by local organist and composer Charles F. Roberts (ca. 1878-1936) and playwright Henry K. Burton (1884-1947). Published in 1921, it was the official song of the Indianapolis Industrial Exposition. Dedicated to the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the cover art depicts the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Beyond this image, the song could be about any city celebrating its civic pride, growth, and modernity, as the text mentions nothing specific to the city. Even so, the song became extremely popular, and over 30,000 copies were sold in Indianapolis.
In 1920 Isaac Doles composed and published the “Indianapolis Centennial March,” dedicated to “Dear Old Indianapolis, Largest and Most Beautiful City in the World.” Doles, a master of hyperbole, was also skilled at getting multiple publications from one piece of music, a common practice of the time. It was first written in 1883 as the “St. George Commandery March” for the Knights of St. John in Chicago, appeared again dedicated to Commandery 31, Greensburg, Indiana (Dole’s home lodge), and again, as a supplement to the Sunday edition, June 29, 1902.
Doles republished the piece in 1920 to take advantage of the centennial sales market and seems to have poked fun at it simultaneously. The cover art includes similar pictures of Doles, supposedly in 1820 and 1920, and the publication information states that it was “copyright 1820, by Isaac Doles,” and “copyrite [sic] 1920, by Isaac Doles”. The cover notes that the march was written originally in 1820 as the “St. George Commandery March,” the “best march published since the Flood.” The satire is continued by the statement that the author is “124 years old and never told a lie yet, Not Yet??” Each edition of the tune was printed from original plates with different title engravings.
A more recent booster song for Indianapolis differs little from Millikan’s tune. “Indianapolis, Indeed,” written in 1988 with words by Gloria Gaither (and sung at the State Fair and other events by popular country singer Sandi Patti), paints a sentimental and romantic but contemporary vision of the city that includes St. John’s Catholic Church, Starlight Musicals, Union Station, the Circle, City Market, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the 500. The tune is similar in emotional content to Millikan’s picture of a growing, modern, culturally aware city.
The city also has been treated musically by other than popular writers. A unique piece of music written about the city is a symphonic work commissioned by the , written by David Ott, composer-in-residence for the ISO and faculty member at DePauw University. Premiered by the orchestra in September 1993, the uses aural images instead of words to evoke the sights and rites of the city. The six movements depict the composer’s drive into the city through the factory areas toward the growing skyline; the beauty of a sunrise reflected off a glass skyscraper; the fast pace and excitement of the Speedway; the solemnity of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument; the peaceful beauty of Holcomb Gardens at Butler University; and the city’s May festivities. Even though the pieces examined are separated by over 125 years of time, represent many different musical styles, and range from the mundane to the outstanding, all evoke the fondness residents have for the city.
*Note: This entry is from the original print edition of the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis (1994). We are currently seeking an individual with knowledge of this topic to update this entry.
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