Daniel Decatur Emmett's "Dixie" premieres in New York City
Daniel Emmett had written "Dixie" during the early spring in New York City where he was singing with Bryant's Minstrels, a blackface group, then playing the Mechanics hall in New York. The group gave a debut to the song during the finale of their show on April 4, 1859. It became an instant hit and Emmett sold the rights for $500. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Ken Bloom, American songbook: the Singers, the Songwriters and the Songs (New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, 2005), 163.