Sousa!

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 then
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 the
American life.”