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Daniel E. Kelley (Rhode Island, February 1843 – Iowa, 1905) was a musician and entertainer, who after moving to Kansas in 1872, wrote the music for "Home on the Range" (following lyrics by Brewster M. Higley), which became the state song. Kelley played violin with his brothers-in-law in the Harlan Brothers Band, but was primarily a carpenter ...
Daniel E. Kelley (1843–1905), a friend of Higley and member of the Harlan Brothers Orchestra, developed a melody for the song on his guitar. [7] [15] Higley's original lyrics are similar to those of the modern version of the song, but not identical.
- Western folk song
- Brewster M. Higley
Higley's friend Daniel E. Kelley, a Civil War veteran and semiprofessional musician, set the poem to music. Kelley was a fiddle player and founding member of the Harlan Orchestra, which frequently performed the waltz at dances.
Daniel E. Kelley, a friend of Higley's, was credited with picking out a melody on his guitar to serve as the tune. Kelley was a civil War veteran who moved to Gaylord in Smith County in 1872. He, his wife, Lulu Harlan Kelley, and two of her brothers formed the popular Harlan orchestra, much in demand between 1878 and 1885.
Moanfeldt also wrote that he received a statement from a surviving member of the Harlan Brothers Orchestra, Clarence B. Harlan, confirming that his brother-in-law, Daniel E. Kelley, had set Higley's poem to music. Their quartet had performed it in the 1870s and called it "Western Home."
Genre. Western folk song. Composer (s) Daniel E. Kelley. Lyricist (s) Brewster M. Higley. " Home on the Range " is a classic western folk song. It is sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. The lyrics were first written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley of Smith County, Kansas.
Daniel E. Kelley (February 1843, Rhode Island – 1905, Iowa) was a musician and entertainer, who after moving to Kansas in 1872, wrote the music for Home on the Range, which became the state song. Kelley played violin with his brothers-in-law in the Harlan Brothers Band, but was primarily a carpenter by trade.
