All Hail to Massachusetts

All Hail to Massachusetts
Regional anthem of Massachusetts
MusicArthur J. Marsh, 1954[1]
Adopted3 September 1966

"All Hail to Massachusetts", with words and music by Arthur James Marsh, was made the official state song of Massachusetts on September 3, 1966, and codified by an act of the General Court in 1966.[2] The song, written originally in the Spring of 1954 by Marsh, a Wellesley music teacher who intended to make it an official anthem, was first performed on August 15, 1954, at the bandstand of Paragon Park, Nantasket Beach in Hull.[3][4][5] Following three previous attempts by the legislature to designate a state song in 1958, 1961, and 1964, this song was selected as the state song in June 1966. The final commission which picked the tune was chaired by Arthur Fiedler, conductor of the Boston Pops, along with Erich Leinsdorf, with the support of fellow Boston Pops musicians Harry Ellis Dickson and Leo Litwin, and Peter Siragusa, then-director of music for Boston Public Schools. The commission's legislators were state senator James A. Kelly Jr., as well as representatives David M. Bartley and John M. Melia.[1][6] With its enactment as the state song, it entered the public domain, with the act including a "properly executed transfer of the copyright to said song to the commonwealth."[2][7]

Marsh's song beat out other contenders, including a submission by Dedham's Charlotte Parson Noyes entitled "Massachusetts! Behold Her!"[8] In 1981 the General Court amended the act to include the song "Massachusetts," words and music by Arlo Guthrie, as the state's official "Folk" song, however this amending act would not transfer the rights to Guthrie's song to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.[9]

  1. ^ a b "'All Hail to Massachusetts'". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. June 3, 1966. p. 1.
  2. ^ a b "1966 Chap. 0644. An Act Designating The Song "All Hail To Massachusetts" As The Song Of The Commonwealth". Archives.lib.state.ma.us. 29 April 1966. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  3. ^ Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office (Report). September 18, 1945. p. 388. [Patent] 2,385,093 - Teaching Device, Arthur J. Marsh, Wellesley, Mass.
  4. ^ "Wellesley Man Writes Martial New State Song". The Boston Globe. August 17, 1954. p. 24. A patriotic melody which the composer, Arthur J. Marsh of Wellesley, hopes will be considered for this state's official song, was sung Sunday by Jack Leu Jr., of Natick, at the Nantasket Beach bandstand. It was the first time the tune "All Hail to Massachusetts," had been sung in public. Words of the song, soon to be published, have a distinct martial rhythm.
  5. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 1954. p. 3. ALL HAIL TO MASSACHUSETTS; w, m & © Arthur James Marsh 7May54 EU357256
  6. ^ Legal records of the state song, 1967-1968 (Report). Massachusetts Special Commission Relative to the Selection of an Official Song for the Commonwealth. OCLC 78729773.
  7. ^ "Archives: Research Services". Secretary of the Commonwealth. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Those records created by Massachusetts government agencies and institutions held by the Massachusetts Archives are not copyrighted and are available for public use. Copyright for materials submitted to state agencies may be held by the person or organization that created the document.
  8. ^ "Collection of Poetry from a Dedham Author Charlotte Parson Noyes". Dedham Historical Society & Museum Newsletter (March-April 2021): 1.
  9. ^ "1981 Chap. 0383. An Act Designating The Songs "All Hail To Massachusetts" And "Massachusetts" As The State And Folk Songs Of The Commonwealth". Archives.lib.state.ma.us. 29 April 1981. Retrieved 29 April 2021.