The bad news for James Lord Pierpont is that he wrote his only popular song, “The One-Horse Open Sleigh,” in the 1850s. No ASCAP or BMI, no on-air or streaming royalties, no Bandcamp to sell music online.
The good news is that Pierpont was a jerk, so it’s not as if a nice guy got stiffed. Many of his songs were written for minstrel shows in both the North and South, deriving laughs from stereotypes of Black people. And in the mores of the time, he didn’t particularly seem like a gentleman – even “Jingle Bells” is about luring young women with your fast sled.
After his first wife died, he left Boston for Savannah. When the Civil War broke out, Pierpont joined the Confederate Army. He wrote songs in support of the cause, including “Our Battle Flag” and “We Conquer or Die.”
So Pierpont, who taught organ after the war, never made big bucks from his most famous song, which had been retitled for the first two words of the refrain.
There are hundreds of recordings of the song. I’m partial to the Duke Ellington arrangement played by his big band and covered by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Here is a video of the JLCO playing this classic.
Have a happy Christmas Eve!
SUBJECTISM 