Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A.

"Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A." is a sports anthem, novelty song, and jazz march by American songwriter Ruth Roberts. First recorded by Hugo Winterhalter in 1950, it became one of the most frequently heard songs on American radio during that year's college football season. It was later covered by a number of other artists, including Percy Faith and The Crew-Cuts. Lyrically associated with gridiron football, it is a staple in the repertoire of some college and high school marching bands and is particularly associated with the University of Nebraska.

"Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A."
Cover of the 1950 sheet music to "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A."
Song
Written1950
Composer(s)Ruth Roberts
Lyricist(s)Gene Piller, Bill Katz
Audio sample
An excerpt of Winterhalter's 1950 recording of "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A."
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Background

Composition

"Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A." is an energetic jazz march composed in 1950 by Ruth Roberts with her husband Gene Piller and long-time collaborator William "Bill" Katz.[1][2][lower-alpha 1] It has been described as musically and thematically similar to the 1933 song "You Gotta Be a Football Hero".[1][2]

Lyrics

The song's lyrics are typical of those of American university fight songs, and communicate what Frank Hoffmann has described as "an adolescent manner of praising the power of the football team".[3] They tell of the athletic exploits of an eponymous, fictional character known by the moniker "Mr. Touchdown" who will unfailingly run touchdowns if given a pigskin. In the bridge, the lyrics recall Mr. Touchdown's triumphs over specific college football teams, such as describing "the day he murdered Minnesota", how he "took Wisconsin's white and red and made it black and blue instead", and declaring that "what he did to Arkansas should happen to your mother-in-law".[4] The schools named in the bridge as having been bested by Mr. Touchdown are: Fordham University, Harvard University, West Virginia University, the University of Texas, the University of Tennessee, the University of Iowa, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Minnesota, the University of Arkansas, Purdue University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Recording and release

Hugo Winterhalter's 1950 recording of the song was released as a single in September 1950, with the album's B side a performance of the patriotic, anti-communist song "The Red We Want is the Red We've Got".[5] In the November 25, 1950 issue of Billboard, "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A" was listed among the ten most played songs on American radio.[6]

Promotion
Bobby Reynolds (pictured) became known as Mr. Touchdown after winning an RCA contest organized as part of its promotion of "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A."

To promote the song's debut, RCA offered a prize of a television set and a silver-plated album of Winterhalter's recording to the college football player who scored the most touchdowns during the 1950 football season; as part of the promotion, albums of "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A." were sent to sports reporters at American newspapers.[7] The University of Nebraska's Bobby Reynolds ultimately claimed the prize, which was presented to him by Winterhalter in February of 1951.[8] Reynolds, who became best known among Nebraska fans for a legendary 88-yard touchdown he ran against Missouri during the 1950 season, has since been described as the Mr. Touchdown.[9][10]

Performances and cultural influence

"Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A." was covered by The Crew-Cuts on their 1956 album On the Campus, and by Percy Faith on his 1958 album Touchdown![11] It was performed during pre-game ceremonies of Super Bowl III in 1969 and is a regular number in the University of Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band's pregame shows, played between the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "March of the Cornhuskers".[12][13] It has also been performed by the marching bands of the University of Michigan and other universities and high schools.[14]

In 2020, Yardbarker named "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A." second on a list of the "25 best songs about sports"; in September 2018, it was named by the Daily Mississippian to its "playlist of the week".[15][16]

The song is part of the soundtrack to the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds and the 2008 film Yes Man.

See also

Notes
  1. Roberts and Katz would later work together to write the New York Mets tribute song "Meet the Mets".[1]

References
  1. Keep, Peter (July 7, 2011). "Ruth Roberts, Songwriter Known for N.Y. Mets Ditty". Boston Globe. New York Times News Service. Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Schueneman, Bruce R (2013). College Fight Songs: An Annotated Anthology. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 978-1136384677.
  3. Hoffmann, Frank (2013). Football and American Identity. Routledge. p. 173. ISBN 978-1135427146.
  4. Case, Jerry (September 21, 2014). "By the Book: There are plenty of baseball books, but football?". Suffolk Times. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  5. Goddard, Bob (September 22, 1950). "The Music Whirl". St. Louis Globe Democrat. Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Records Most Played by Disc Jockeys". Billboard. November 25, 1950. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  7. "Record Makers to Honor TD Terror". Indianapolis News. October 26, 1950. Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A." The Frederick Press. February 15, 1951. Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  9. Chrisopherson, Brian (March 1, 2016). "81 yards: Nebraska's All-American boy". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  10. Sittler, Dave (October 31, 1975). "Mr. Touchdown's Anniversary". Lincoln Journal-Star. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  11. "Touchdown!". percyfaith.info. All About Percy Faith Discography and Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  12. "Husker game day traditions". Daily Nebraskan. July 22, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  13. "Super Bowl III". paleycenter.org. Paley Center for Media. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  14. "From the Sidelines". Michigan Alumnus. October 18, 1952.
  15. Mezydlo, Jeff (December 30, 2020). "Jock jams: The 25 best songs about sports". Yardbarker. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  16. Dunnells, Adam (September 18, 2018). "Playlist of the week: Football". The Daily Mississippian. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
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