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John Philip Sousa

The History and Legacy of America's Most Famous Composer

Jun 2, 2007 Chad Criswell

Of all American musicians and composers, one name ranks as the most historically prominent: John Philip Sousa, his marches, and his legacy stand for all time.

Few American composers of the early 1900's have as much name recognition as John Philip Sousa. While in modern times we think of names such as the Beatles or Aerosmith as being long-lived and incredibly popular, none of these modern groups can hold a candle to the popularity that Sousa and his band had from its formation in 1892 until his death in 1932. According to some reports, Sousa's band was the equivalent of the number 1 act in the country for 30 of those years, a feat never before heard of or repeated since.

John Philip Sousa's legacy comprises 136 marches, many of which are still recognizable and very popular during community events, celebrations, and even local school band concerts. His most famous march, The Stars and Stripes Forever, premiered around Christmas of 1896 and is now played world wide, especially on the Fourth of July in the United States. His other major march works include The Washington Post March, El Capitan, and Sempre Fidelis, the offical march of the United States Marine Corps.

Sousa's long and prominent career as a musician began at the age of only 13 when his father enlisted him as an apprentice with the United States Marine Corps (where his father served as a trombonist in the Marine Band). Over the next dozen years he learned to play every instrument in the band and in 1880 took over as the conductor of the group, a post which he held for the next 12 years until retiring to form his own band. This new band, known to the public simply as "Sousa's Band," went on to perform for the next 39 years, performing over 10,000 concerts in over 1,000 cities across the globe.

Sousa's legacy does not simply stop with his marches, however. Here are a few additional interesting facts about John Philip Sousa:

Sousa was the inventor of the "Sousaphone,"a variant of the tuba that wraps around the body of the performer. The first sousaphone was created by JW Pepper at the request of Sousa.
Sousa was one of many individuals who made a strong case for the adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as our National Anthem.
Sousa's band had as members some of the most noted musicians of the time period. Meredith Willson, who played flute and piccolo in the band, went on to write such classics as the Broadway musical, The Music Man.

The copyright of the article John Philip Sousa in Arts Education is owned by Chad Criswell. Permission to republish John Philip Sousa in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

John Philip Sousa