Abstract
If you were to close your eyes and imagine a fireworks display complete with patriotic music, chances are the song you’d hear in your head would be one recognized by Congress in 1987 as the official march of the United States: “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Written in 1896 by John Philip Sousa, it may be his most famous composition.
Popular songs, at their best, allow the listener to step inside the world of the songwriter. The song clarifies feelings of the listeners or allows them to live vicariously through the composer’s work. Songs can tell us who we are or who we’d like to be, as heard in the songs of Taylor Swift and the raps of Kendrick Lamar in modern times. At the turn of the twentieth century, John Philip Sousa emerged as a different kind of pop star and captured the American imagination.
Known as the “March King,” Sousa wrote 135 marches for military band as well as many other instrumental works, operettas (the equivalent to modern musical theater), and songs. Born in Washington, D.C., in 1854 to a musical family, he organized his first adult ensemble at age eleven and became an apprentice musician with the U.S. Marine Band, in which his father played trombone, at age thirteen. After leading the U.S. Marine Band (1880–92), Sousa left the military to form his own civilian band, which toured extensively. Through his hard work, high standards of musical excellence, and business acumen, he became one of the best known musicians in the world.
“The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa
All images courtesy of the Library of Congress
In his time, American music was viewed as rough and unrefined in comparison to European classical music of the time. To prove a point, Sousa arranged many of these pieces for his band. By playing his own music alongside European masterworks, without fear of paling in comparison, he created the perception that they were of equal quality, a perception that history has proved to be true.
The sheet music for Sousa’s marches sold millions of copies in their time, and his publisher made a mint while often paying Sousa only $25 to $35 for each new composition. This provided Sousa, a shrewd businessman in his own right, the impetus to lobby Congress in favor of the 1909 Copyright Law to better protect the rights of composers. He also became one of the founding members of ASCAP (the American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers), which to this day oversees the distribution of royalty payments to ensure that musicians are properly compensated for their creative achievements.
Links to Resources
“The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America” is a new online resource offering links to over 90,000 digitized items for listening to, playing, and learning about music and its integral role in telling the story of American history. Whether you are a music instructor or simply want to incorporate music into your classroom curriculum, you can benefit from the essays, videos, maps, timeline, and other resources that help place some of those items in a broader historical context.
The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America: http://www.loc.gov/collection/songs-of-america/about-this-collection/#overview
The following links lead to an article about the history of this famous march, a recording by the U.S. Marine Band, a set of parts for band, and the piano/vocal sheet music for students to learn the little known words to this famous tune.
About “The Stars and Stripes Forever”: http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200000018/
Piano/vocal sheet music: http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010482/
Original manuscript: http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010480/
Band parts: http://www.loc.gov/item/sousa.200028215/
Audio recording by the U.S. Marine Band: http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010504
