Sousa first received acclaim in military band circles with the writing of his march “The Gladiator” in 1886. In 1888, he wrote “Semper Fidelis”, which he dedicated to “the officers and men of the Marine Corps.” It is traditionally known as the “official” march of the Marine Corps.
Under Sousa, the Marine Band also made its first recordings. The phonograph was a relatively new invention, and the Columbia Phonograph Company sought a military band to record. The Marine Band was chosen, and 60 cylinders were released in the fall of 1890. By 1897, more than 400 different titles were available for sale, placing Sousa’s marches among the first and most popular pieces ever recorded, and making the Marine Band one of the world’s first “recording stars.”
After two successful but limited tours with the Marine Band in 1891 and 1892, promoter David Blakely convinced Sousa to resign and organize a civilian concert band; thus was born Sousa’s New Marine Band.
The band’s first concert was performed on Sept. 26, 1892 at Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, New Jersey. Two days earlier, bandleader Patrick Gilmore had died in St. Louis. Nineteen of Gilmore’s former musicians eventually joined Sousa’s band, including Herbert L. Clarke (cornet) and E. A. Lefebre (saxophone). Although its original name was Sousa’s New Marine Band, criticism from Washington eventually forced the band to drop the new Marine part of its name.
In 1896, Sousa and his wife were vacationing in Europe when word came that David Blakely had died. The couple immediately left for home. It was on the return voyage home that Sousa was inspired to begin writing his most famous composition, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
From 1900 to 1910, the Sousa Band toured the U.S., Europe, Great Britain, the Canary Islands, in the South Pacific, strengthening its growing reputation as the most admired American band of its time.
After World War I, Sousa continued to tour with his band while championing the cause of music education for all children. He also received several honorary degrees and fought for composers’ rights, testifying before Congress in 1927 and 1928.
Sousa’s last appearance before the Marine Band was on the occasion of the Carabao Wallow of 1932 in Washington, D.C. Sousa, as a distinguished guest, rose from the speaker’s table, took the baton from Captain Taylor Branson, the band’s director, and led the band in “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Later that year, after conducting a rehearsal of the Ringgold Band in Reading, Pa., the 77-year old Sousa passed away. The last piece Sousa had rehearsed with the band was “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
In addition to hundreds of marches, Sousa also wrote 10 operas and a number of musical suites. He had many talents aside from music, authoring three novels and a full-length autobiography, as well as a number of articles and letters-to-the-editor on a variety of subjects.
Sousa is not forgotten. On December 9, 1939, the new Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. was dedicated to the memory of John Philip Sousa. In a tribute to its 17th leader, in 1974, the Marine Band rededicated its historic band hall at Marine Barracks as John Philip Sousa Band Hall. The bell from the S.S. John Philip Sousa, a World War II Liberty ship, is there. In 1976, Sousa was enshrined in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. And in 1987, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” was designated as the national march of the United States. A White House memorandum states that the march has become “an integral part of the celebration of American life.”
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