"Let's Go Blue" is a short song most often associated with the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, but widely performed during high school and professional sports as well. It was composed by Joe Carl and first arranged by Albert Ahronheim in the 1970s. The song consists of 32 bars and is 40 seconds long.

History

The melody to "Let's Go Blue" was written by Joe Carl, with various dates given for its composition is 1974 or later, including 1975 and 1976. Carl, who at the time of the song's composition was an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

student at the University of Michigan and

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

player in the

Michigan Marching Band The Michigan Marching Band (also known as the University of Michigan Marching Band or simply MMB) is the official marching band of the University of Michigan. The band performs at all Michigan Wolverines football home games, select away games, and ...

, improvised the melody as a "time-out ditty" for use during a hockey game at

Yost Ice Arena Yost Ice Arena, formerly the Fielding H. Yost Field House, is an indoor ice hockey arena located on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the home of the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team which plays in ...

. The song's simple lyrics were spontaneously created by Michigan band director George Cavender who shouted them in a moment of enthusiasm after the song had been performed several times; the lyrics quickly caught on with the crowd. The song was subsequently arranged for band by Albert Ahronheim and, according to one source, first performed at a football game in September 1975 when Michigan played

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. Another source claims the first football performance of the song occurred in November 1976 against

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. The song "went viral" after it was played by the Michigan Marching Band during the national telecast of the

1976 Orange Bowl The 1976 Orange Bowl was the 42nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1975–76 bowl game season, it matched the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines of th ...

. Sheet music for the song was published in 1978 following by an organ version in 1983. Since its debut at Michigan, the melody has been used by

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

, the

University of Nebraska at Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, and

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

, in addition to countless high school and professional sports teams. By 1984, Carl and Ahronheim were each receiving approximately $1,000 annually in

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

royalty payments for the song.It is also heard at New York Rangers games at Madison Square Garden, where the fans chant " Potvin Sucks" in place of "Let's Go Blue". https://youtube.com/shorts/dmfBadxNI00?feature=share

References

External links

"Let's Go Blue" composer Carl performing the song at Sumner High School in Sumner, Washington in 2014 (YouTube video)
{{authority control University of Michigan Year of song unknown 1970s songs Articles containing video clips American college songs College fight songs in the United States Big Ten Conference fight songs

History

See also

References

External links