American Icons: Dixie

Studio 360 | Jul 1, 2013

This is the tune the nation brought to war.

Dixie

It’s been a century-and-a-half since a minstrel tune called “Dixie” debuted in New York. The song went viral, and soon North and South alike were whistling “Dixie.” With the outbreak of the Civil War, “Dixie” became an anthem of the antebellum way of life. And today we are still fighting over “Dixie.” Studio 360’s Trey Kay asks why it continues to divide the nation.

(Originally aired: April 15, 2011)

 

Bonus Track: Elvis Sings "Dixie"
Elvis Presley sings "Dixie" as part of the song "American Trilogy."

 

Bonus Track: "Union Dixie"
"Dixie" was popular in the North and the South. Bobby Horton performs this version, just for Yankees.

 

Bonus Track: "Everybody's Dixie"
Horton performs extra verses for those partial to the South in "Everybody's Dixie."

 

 

Video: Bing Crosby sings “Dixie”
Minstrel shows aren’t ancient history. A black-faced Bing Crosby performed this version of “Dixie” in a 1943 movie of the same name.

 

 

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Top Stories

America at 250: A View from Britain, with “The Rest Is History”

The historian-podcasters Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explain why losing the thirteen colonies “annoyed” the British, but “it could have been a lot worse.”
The New Yorker Radio Hour |

NYC Rent Guidelines Board approves 2-year rent freeze, fulfilling Mamdani campaign pledge

About 1 million rent-stabilized apartments will be shielded from rent increases for the next two years after the historic vote.
Gothamist |

Are Carriage Horses a Thing of the Past?

Liam Quigley talks about the latest efforts to ban carriage horses in Central Park.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Feds indict former Mayor Adams adviser Frank Carone in migrant housing bribery scheme

One of former Mayor Eric Adams' oldest and closest allies was arrested Wednesday on federal corruption charges, joining a growing roster of Adams aides facing prosecution.
Gothamist |
YOU ARE ONLINE