Sigma Chi fraternity's song "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" turns 100

[SOM]

Peek Through Time: Albion College's Sigma Chi fraternity's song "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" turns 100

A century ago, two Albion College frat brothers engaged in one of the more enduring flights of student fancy. The pair co-authored the most beloved of college fraternity songs, “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi.”
It was birthed at a most inappropriate time — during a class. And who knows what might have happened had the professor snatched the sheet of paper on which the lyrics were written, wadded it up and tossed it into the wastebasket with a rebuke of the starry-eyed young poet?
http://www.mlive.com/living/jackson/...ion_colle.html

[NutBrnHair]

A classic, for sure. My stepfather, who was born in 1921 and was not Greek, always requested this song! It certainly enjoyed widespread appeal!

[NutBrnHair]

My Chi Omega Sweetheart, a waltz song, was published by Collegiate Music Co. in 1927. Copies sold for fifty cents each. The music was by Jack Hutchings, a Sigma Chi, with words by Reed Vetterli and Max Prentice. Since this was a commercial undertaking and not composed by Chi Omegas, the Governing Council voted that it was not an official song to be used in college songbooks. When the publisher contacted National President, Mary Love Collins and asked if Chi Omega would purchase the rights to the song, she declined. He urged her to reconsider since the popularity of the song was second only to "Sweetheart of Sigma Chi." Mary Love felt that it would set an unwise precedent, for who would be next with a plan to commercialize Chi Omega?

Perhaps in response to the previous song, "Sweetheart of Chi Omega" was written by Beth Whitney, Xi Alpha/University of Utah, and published in 1928. The inside cover of the sheet music features a photo from the 1928 Convention of five members and one very lucky gentleman!

Excerpt of an article from The Eleusis, Fall 2010

[LaneSig]

It's a great song.

After learning it, the brothers of my chapter would then show the pledges how it could also be sung to the tune of "Gilligan's Island". Whenever we were getting ready to sing it, we always had to remind everyone to do the real version, not the Gilligan version.