Philip Phile

Philip Phile (German: Pfeil) (c. 1734–1793) was a German-American composer and violinist. His year of birth is uncertain, but believed to be approximately 1734. His works include a lost Violin Concerto (1787), but he is best known for "The President's March", written and performed at the inauguration of President George Washington in 1789.

Joseph Hopkinson arranged the piece with lyrics and titled it "Hail Columbia". It was first performed by at the Chestnut Street Theatre on April 25, 1798. It is best known under this title and was once a strong candidate for U.S. national anthem, though today it has, unlike other candidates, such as "America the Beautiful", been largely forgotten, although it continues to appear in films set in the United States during the nineteenth century.

Birth and Death Data: Died 1793

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1904 - 1940

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

Notes: Also referred to as "Prof. Phile."

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-1831 10-in. 10/26/1904 American patriotic airs Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor C-3160[a] 12-in. 3/6/1906 Hail Columbia! Harry Macdonough Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-9156 10-in. 7/6/1910 Hail Columbia Haydn Quartet ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal quartet and solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-13711 10-in. 8/15/1913 Hail Columbia Victor Military Band Band composer  
Victor B-14572 10-in. 3/13/1914 Hail Columbia! Victor Mixed Chorus Chorus, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-19854 10-in. 5/16/1917 Hail Columbia Raymond Dixon ; Orpheus Quartet Male vocal quartet and solo, with drum and orchestra composer  
Victor B-20300 10-in. 6/27/1917 Hail Columbia! Evan Williams Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-20388 12-in. 7/11/1917 Songs of the nation Conway's Band Band composer  
Victor B-30963 10-in. 10/2/1924 Hail Columbia Lewis James ; Shannon Quartet Male vocal quartet and soloist, with orchestra composer  
Victor BS-048769 10-in. 4/11/1940 Hail Columbia Emile Coté ; Victor Mixed Chorus Mixed vocal chorus, with organ composer  
Columbia 77171 10-in. 6/22/1917 Hail Columbia Prince's Band Band composer  
Columbia 77175 10-in. 6/27/1917 Hail, Columbia Columbia Stellar Quartette ; Charles Harrison Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra composer  
OKeh S-71509 10-in. May 1923 Hail! Columbia Chester Strong Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Edison 3069 10-in. either May or June 1914 Hail, Columbia New York Military Band Band composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Phile, Philip," accessed December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116598.

Phile, Philip. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116598.

"Phile, Philip." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116598

External Sources

Wikipedia: Philip Phile

Discogs: Philip Phile

Allmusic: Philip Phile

IMSLP: Philip Phile

IMDb: Philip Phile

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Phile, Philip, -1793 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr94035805

Wikidata: Philip Phile - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7184209

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/58965905

MusicBrainz: Philip Phile - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5766159c-9a9c-4142-82be-f53542f99656

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1841245 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1841245

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.