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The Maine Stein Song
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Wikipedia article
'The Maine Stein Song' is the school song of the University of Maine. Its lyrics were written by UMaine student Lincoln Colcord in 1902 and its tune was based on 'Opie', a march written by E. A. Fenstad. It was popularized in 1930 by Rudy Valle and became the only college song to become a number one hit.
Beginnings
In 1902, Adelbert W. Sprague, a sophomore at the University of Maine, discovered 'Opie', a march written by United States Army bandmaster E. A. Fenstad, while he was playing in an orchestra in Bar Harbor, Maine. In 1904, Sprague, then a senior and the school's band leader, was preparing for a concert to be held at the University. He handed part of 'Opie' to his roommate, Lincoln Colcord, and asked him to provide some Maine-themed lyrics for the song. Colcord wrote the lyrics in half an hour and Sprague then rearranged the song slightly to fit the lyrics. The song was presented to the faculty advisor on music affairs, who disapproved of it on the grounds that it was a drinking song and it would be in poor taste for the state university of a state that prohibited the manufacture and sale of liquor to have its students singing such a song. However, Sprague had a chance meeting with University of Maine President George Emory Fellows, who told him that the lyrics were all right. The song was a hit at a concert and became popular with the student body.
The lyrics were first published on February 15, 1905 in the University of Maine magazine 'The Maine Campus'. The song was copyrighted on June 23, 1910 by Carl Fisher, who owned the copyright to 'Opie', under the name '"Opie" The University of Maine Stein Song'.
Rudy Valle
Rudy Valle heard the Maine Stein Song when he attended the University of Maine from 1921 to 1922. In 1929, the National Broadcasting Company acquired the rights to 'Opie' and Valle, the host of the network's 'Fleischmann's Yeast Hour', recorded the song with a faster tempo and a few word changes. The song topped the charts for two months and was the leading song of 1930. It became the only college song to become a number one hit.
In 1953, Valle sang the song before a live television audience of 60 million persons (broadcast live over the NBC and CBS networks) as part of 'The Ford 50th Anniversary Show'.
Reception
At the time the song became popular, it reference to drinking was said to be a violation of the Volstead Act. Its lyrics were also criticized for being pagan by proposing a toast "to the gods" and "to the fates". In 1930, Johnny Johnson and Harry McDaniel wrote 'I'd Like To Find The Guy Who Wrote The Stein Song', a comedy song about a man who is fed up with constantly hearing 'The Stein Song' on the radio.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the song came under moralist fire again for its promotion of drinking and lyrics that were considered sexist ("let every Maine man sing" and "to the lips and the eyes of the girls who will love us someday"). Various individuals began to push for a revision of the lyrics or the adoption of a new school song. These persons did not meet with success, the song remaining widely popular throughout the student body.
Bill Studwell ranked 'The Stein Song' as the sixth best college fight song in his book 'College Fight Songs: An Annotated Anthology.'
References
Category:1902 songs
Category:America East Conference fight songs
Category:Drinking songs
Category:American college songs
Category:University of Maine
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