Francis Craig

Francis Craig (September 10, 1900 – November 19, 1966)[1][2] was a songwriter and leader of a Nashville dance band. His works included "Dynamite" and "Near You". He was also a disc jockey at radio station WSM (AM) in Nashville, Tennessee.[3]

"Dynamite!" now the official fight song of Vanderbilt University, was written by Craig in 1922, when Craig was an undergraduate student at the University.[4] It is played mainly at football games, basketball games, and at other Commodore sports events.

His own recording of "Near You" was released by Bullet Records as catalog number 1001. It first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on August 30, 1947, and lasted 21 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. It held the number one spot for 12 straight weeks Various recordings by other persons have followed.

Other works included "Beg Your Pardon" with Beasley Smith.

References

  1. ↑ Tennessee Historical Society Retrieved April 15, 2009
  2. ↑ The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture Retrieved April 17, 2013
  3. ↑ "(WSM ad)" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 12, 1948. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Traughber, Bill (2008-09-09). "The history of Vanderbilt athletics part 3". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 2008-10-29.