Every Man a King (song) explained

"Every Man a King" is a song cowritten by Louisiana's Governor and United States Senator Huey Long and Castro Carazo. Long was known for his political slogan "Every man a king," which is also the title of his 1933 autobiography^[1] and the catch-phrase of his Share Our Wealth proposal during the Great Depression.^[2] The song's lyrics include the lines "With castles and clothing and food for all/ All belongs to you".^[3] The song was co-written in 1935 by Huey Long and Castro Carazo, the band director of Louisiana State University, a former orchestra leader at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans brought to LSU by Long himself.^[4]

Origin

The phrase "Every man a king, but no one wears a crown" was adopted from Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.^[5] Long also used the phrase as a political slogan and as the name of his autobiography.^[6]

Recordings

The song was recorded by the Louisiana Boys in January 1935 (Bluebird B-5840)^[7] and again by the Louisiana Ramblers in October 1935, just a few weeks after Long's death (Decca 5151).^[8]

Singer-songwriter Randy Newman recorded the song on his 1974 album Good Old Boys.^{[9] [10]}

References

Works cited

• Book: Brinkley, Alan. Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and the Great Depression. New York . Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. 2011. 1982. 9780307803221. Brinkley.

External links

• "Every Man a King" at the Tulane University Digital Library

Notes and References

1. Book: Every man a king: the autobiography of Huey P. Long. Huey Pierce Long. 21 March 1996. Da Capo Press. 978-0-306-80695-7.
2. Text of Huey Long's Every Man a King at AmericanRhetoric.com
3. Web site: Between the Wars: Every Man A King . 2019-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141017053915/http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/hist409/long/share.html . 2014-10-17 . live .
4. http://www.bands.lsu.edu/band_history/index.php LSU Band History
5. [#Brinkley|Brinkley (2011) [1982]]
6. News: June 8, 2018. Find of the Week: Huey P. Long's 'Every Man a King' was a slogan, an autobiography — and a song. WGNO. New Orleans. October 25, 2020.
7. Discography of American Historical Recordings

   Victor matrix BVE-87696

8. Discography of American Historical Recordings

   Decca matrix 60084

9. News: Davis. Stephen. January 21, 1997. Good Old Boys. Rolling Stone. June 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200426125340/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/good-old-boys-95294/. April 26, 2020.
10. News: Frazier. Ian. Hertzberg. Hendrik. December 2, 1974. Randy Newman. The New Yorker. June 17, 2020.