Charles A. Zimmermann (1861 – January 16, 1916) was an American composer of

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

and popular music. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, he was appointed bandmaster at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1887 at the age of 26. Zimmermann served as the academy's bandmaster until his death from a brain hemorrhage in 1916. Zimmermann is buried at the Naval Academy cemetery. Zimmermann composed his most famous march, " Anchors Aweigh", in 1906 when he was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the United States Navy. The lyrics were written by Alfred Hart Miles, a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

. The march was intended from the beginning to serve as a rousing tune for football games. The familiar strain is actually the trio of the larger work. Zimmermann also composed numerous songs for the 1902 stage play ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

''.

List of compositions

*with Frank Keesee: **Only You (Sir Dashemoff Daily) *with Mr. Hollister: **When the Heart is Sad (Sir Dashemoff Daily) *with Vincent Bryan: **Marching Thro' Georgia (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman) **Sitting Bull (Scarecrow) **Football (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman) **Marching Through Port Arthur (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)

Bibliography

*Holsinger, M. Paul, ed. (1999). ''War and American Popular Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. Westport: Greenwood Press. * Ravitch, Diane, ed. (2000). ''The American Reader''. New York: HarperCollins.

External links

Biography
a
www.usna.edu

US Navy page: "Anchors Aweigh"
* 1861 births 1916 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians American male composers American people of German descent Zimmermann, Charles Military music composers Peabody Institute alumni {{US-composer-19thC-stub