The Philly Killer

Bellevue Stratford Hotel- Philadelphia

Historic American Buildings Survey
Library of Congress

Some say it was radiation, some say there was acid on the microphone,
Some say a combination that turned their hearts to stone,
But whatever it was, it drove them to their knees.
Oh, Legionnaires’ disease.

I wish I had a dollar for everyone that died within that year,
Got ‘em hot by the collar, plenty an old maid shed a tear,
Now within my heart, it sure put on a squeeze.
Oh, that Legionnaires’ disease.

Granddad fought in a revolutionary war, father in the War of 1812,
Uncle fought in Vietnam and then he fought a war all by himself,
But whatever it was, it came out of the trees.
Oh, that Legionnaires’ disease

"Dylan’s song lyrics capture the feeling of confusion and conspiracy that diffused throughout the nation after an American Legion convention in Philadelphia left members with a deadly pneumonia.

The Legion members were celebrating America’s bicentennial; the momentous occasion brought them all to the Bellevue Stratford Hotel on a hot weekend in July of 1976. The illness progressed in the members after they returned to their homes, all suffering from headaches, chest pains, fever, and lung congestion. Dr. Ernest Campbell, a physician from Bloomsburg, Columbia County, was the first to see a pattern in the outbreak of illness after he found that three of his patients with similar symptoms had attended the conference. "

“Legionnaires’ Disease,” written by Bob Dylan. Dylan never recorded this song, but turned it over to Delta Cross Band. It is in their album "Up Front".

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