Thomas Brigham Bishop
| Thomas Brigham Bishop | |
|---|---|
Thomas Brigham Bishop around 1857
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| Born |
June 29, 1835 Wayne, Maine, United States |
| Died | May 15, 1905 (aged 69) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Resting place | Mount Peace Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Songwriter |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah A. Bishop (? - 1924) |
Thomas Brigham Bishop (June 29, 1835 - May 15, 1905) (usually referred to as T. Brigham Bishop) is best known as an American composer of popular music. Various disputed claims have been made by Bishop and others that he authored, or at least contributed to the authorship of, a number of popular 19th century songs including John Brown's Body, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, and Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me. Bishop later had an infamous career as a proprietor, among other schemes.
Bishop was born in Wayne (Kennebec County) Maine in 1835. and began studying music in Providence, Rhode Island when he was 16. In 1864, he founded a minstrel show in Chattanooga, which lasted until Lincoln's assassination.
While Bishop did publish a number of songs beginning in the 1850s, disputes have arisen over his authorship claims as to some of the most famous of those compositions. In some cases, it is fairly clear that Bishop was not the original author of the works in dispute. In other cases the facts are not clear.
Bishop has often been attributed with authorship of the popular Civil War marching song "John Brown's Body", though that claim is widely disputed. The melody of the song was famously also used for The Battle Hymn of the Republic. In 1916, Bishop's friend John J. MacIntyre published a short book promoting Bishop's authorship of John Brown's Body and other songs, boldly called The Composer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. MacIntyre also promoted Bishop's authorship claims in 1935, for the 100th anniversary of Bishop's birth, which was featured in an article in Time magazine.
Bishop's story of the genesis of the song is that it grew out of a conversation with his brother-in-law around 1858, who "took me to task, remarking that my songs were all written for the devil. Then he said 'I am bound to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.' Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!'" This, according to Bishop, inspired him to the melody and lyrics, and he later modified the lyrics after John Brown's death at Harper's Ferry in 1859. Bishop claimed he first published the song with John Church of Cincinnati in 1861.
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