What we learned about a century of songs inspired by Cleveland and Ohio

MetroTaylor Swift’s “Cleveland!” joins a long history of songs tied to Cleveland and Ohio. (Illustration based on photo by cleveland.com.)Illustration created with AI toolsBy Michael Johnson, cleveland.comcleveland.com Express DeskCLEVELAND, Ohio — Taylor Swift’s new song “Cleveland!” joins more than a century of music in which artists have used Cleveland and Ohio as settings and symbols for romance, tragedy, industrial decline, hometown pride, comedy and rock ’n’ roll identity.Some songs were written directly about Ohio events or places. Others became associated with the state because audiences adopted them.These are five takeaways from the original article, which examined Cleveland and Ohio’s long and varied place in popular music.1. Swift adds a love story to a songbook more than a century old“Beautiful Ohio,” published in 1918 and later designated Ohio’s official state song, predates Swift’s “Cleveland!” by more than a century.Swift’s song takes a more personal approach. It refers to Travis Kelce, who grew up in Cleveland Heights, and recalls his bringing her to Cleveland and showing her where he grew up.That makes Cleveland part of a relationship story rather than a civic anthem, protest song or commentary on the city.2. Some of the best-known Ohio songs grew from tragedy and environmental damageNeil Young wrote Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Ohio” after the May 4, 1970, shootings at Kent State University, where Ohio National Guard members killed four students and wounded nine.Two years later, Randy Newman’s “Burn On” used the polluted Cuyahoga River as its subject.The song returned to Cleveland popular culture in 1989 when it played over the opening credits of “Major League.”3. Cleveland’s rock reputation became part of the music itselfIan Hunter’s “Cleveland Rocks,” released in 1979, became one of the city’s most recognizable musical identifiers and later gained a new audience through “The Drew Carey Show.”Huey Lewis also connected Cleveland with rock ’n’ roll history. An early Cleveland performance helped inspire the idea behind “The Heart of Rock ’n’ Roll,” which includes Cleveland among its cities.Jefferson Starship added another Cleveland reference with 1981’s “Stairway to Cleveland.”4. Other songs documented Ohio’s industrial and cultural identityAkron native Chrissie Hynde addressed changes around her hometown in the Pretenders’ “My City Was Gone.”Bruce Springsteen’s “Youngstown” traced generations of northeast Ohio steelworkers through industrial growth, war production and decline.Ohio artists including Michael Stanley Band, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Kid Cudi and Machine Gun Kelly also made Cleveland identity part of their music.5. Some songs became Ohio songs even though they were not written about Ohio“Hang On Sloopy” was not originally an Ohio song.Its association with the state grew after The Ohio State University Marching Band first performed it at Ohio Stadium in 1965. Fans embraced it, and the Ohio General Assembly recognized it as the state’s rock song in a 1985 concurrent resolution.That history shows how Ohio’s musical identity has been shaped both by songs written about the state and by songs listeners turned into local traditions.Michael Johnson brings nearly four decades of newspaper experience in reporting, editing, newsroom leadership, page design and digital publishing. He has led daily and weekly newsrooms in Pennsylvania,...