On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the official flag of the United States by resolution.  140 years later, then President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as "Flag Day", and National Flag day was eventually established by an Act of Congress in 1949.   In recognition of that, this month's tab is an arrangement of "You're A Grand Old Flag", written in 1906 by George M. Cohan, as part of a broadway musical he created called "George Washington, Jr.".  It quickly became the first song from a musical to sell over one million copies.  The inspiration for the song title came from an encounter Cohan once had with a Civil War veteran, who was carrying a carefully folded by ragged old flag.  The man reportedly referred to it as a "grand old rag", and Cohan used that as the original title.  In later years, in response to the objections of many groups and individuals to referring to the flag as a "rag", he renamed the song to "You're a Grand Old Flag".

Cohan was introduced to show business at an early age, since both his parents were traveling Vaudeville performers.  He grew up to become one of the most well known entertainers on Broadway, as a playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, director, and producer.  He is considered to be the inventor of the American musical comedy.   He became one of the most prolific of the Tin Pan Alley era composers, with over 1500 songs to his credit.  Among his most well-known hits are "Give My Regards to Broadway", "The Yankee Doodle Boy", "Mary Is A Grand Old Name", and "Over There".

Happy Flag Day!  

Enjoy!

--Tull