PrintBenny Hill had his theme music, and now Jill Biden does, too
The Washington Examiner has broken what is, so far, the best story of the year: it turns out that Jill Biden has her own "walk-up" music. That is, whenever she makes an official appearance, this music is played for her, just as "Hail to the Chief" is played when the president appears. Someone within the Marine Corps band wrote it, although there is some dispute as to whether the White House requested such music or the Marine Corps band members spontaneously felt that Jill needed that special song.
The Marine Corps band was instructed last fall to come up with an entrance theme for the first lady, a source told the Washington Examiner. The band now has in its repertoire an original composition titled "Fanfare for the First Lady." The song, the source said, is essentially Jill Biden's personal "Hail to the Chief," in that it is to be performed and repeated at official White House functions, from her first appearance until she is ready to speak.
"Fanfare for the First Lady" has created both amusement and confusion within the band, with some remarking that in the many years they've played in the group, this is the first time the group has had to provide the first lady with an exclusive entrance theme.
After the story went to press, it was updated with the White House perspective. According to the White House, no one ever asked for Dr. Jill to have her own music. It was something the Marine Corps band came up with spontaneously:
Michael LaRosa, Jill Biden's press secretary, says the entire story is bunkum.
"The first lady does not have a song anybody has written for her specifically. She has no 'Hail to the Chief' song. She has no song," he told the Washington Examiner. "She never asked anyone to create a song."
"The White House asked nobody, not one person, to compose an exclusive entry song, or any song, for the first lady," LaRosa added. "None of that is accurate."
In fact, he said, "Fanfare for the First Lady" was the band's idea. He said the band approached the White House with a proposal for new music. "Fanfare for the First Lady" wasn't even initially written for Jill Biden, he continued, adding it's simply a finalized version of a piece of music that was already nearly completed when the band first broached the topic with the White House.
Image: Jill Biden (edited in befunky). YouTube screen grab (cropped).
You, dear reader, are free to decide whether the White House or the Marine Corp band is more truthful in its telling of events. It has been played twice for her so far. There are a few things, though, that one cannot contest.
First, as Adams explains, no first lady has ever had a "walk-up" song.
Second, no first lady has ever been as prominent in a presidency. Jill is constantly at Joe's side, escorting him onto the stage and then, when he appears lost, escorting him off again. She even sits at the president's desk on Air Force One and does the prep work for the G7 meetings:
Prepping for the G7. pic.twitter.com/drPmb2vBwI
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) June 9, 2021
Edith Wilson kept to the background, but Jill is out in front and proud of it. When Bill Clinton ran for office, he promised that, thanks to having Hillary at his side, the American public would get two for the price of one. Biden made no such promise, but we seem to have gotten that anyway.
And three, the fanfare is legitimately awful. Either someone in the Marine Corps band is a really bad composer or the band was making a political statement:
Hearing it, one is irresistibly tempted to see if Benny Hill is running around somewhere because, honestly, this must be a joke:
(Although remembering Benny Hill's portrayals of senile, sex-obsessed old men chasing young women, perhaps the Yakity Sax music would be just right for another member of the Biden family.)
Ultimately, it's not surprising that both the White House and the Marine Corps band are disavowing ownership of the "Fanfare for the First Lady." It's an inappropriate idea and a horribly bad piece of...er, music.
