Darling Nelly Gray

DARLING NELLY GRAY 1856

Benjamin Russell Hanby composed Darling Nelly Gray in 1856. It is based on the true story of a runaway slave named Joseph Shelby who died at the Ohio home of Hanby's father. Shelby was traveling north on the Underground Railroad with hopes of raising money to win the freedom of the wife he left behind. Weaving together the lamentations of a brokenhearted lover with the evils of slavery, the song was an immediate success.

Hanby had sent his composition to a music publishing house in Boston, and when the melody swept the nation, he asked for royalties. The publisher reportedly wrote back that Hanby had all the fame and the publisher had all the money … and that balanced the account! Hanby also wrote the Christmas classic, Up on the Housetop.