OK, here is another chance for us to look at the activity and what we thought were the favorite arrangements from corps other than Imperials.

I would suggest that we select from the 60s, 70 and 80s since the arrangements now are more through composed for visual sake rather than for their inherent musical value.

Since it is my question, I will lead it off with some of the arrangements that I thought were outstanding, crowd pleasers, very competitive and maybe trend setters. I'm going to break down the arrangements by


Openers:
Fanfare and Allegro - Santa Clara Vanguard
Fanfare For The New - Argonne Rebels, Guardsmen
Rocknormanoff's 5th - Kilts, Scarlet Knights
Crown Imperial - 27th Lancers

Flag Presentations:
Battle Hymn - Troopers
Chester - Santa Clara Vanguard

Concerts:
Jesus Christ Superstar - Argonne Rebels
MacArthur Park - Kilties
Ritual Fire Dance - Anaheim Kingsmen
Legend Of The One Eyed Sailor - Blue Devils

Production Numbers:
Slaughter on 10th Avenue - Madison Scouts
Children of Sanchez - Northstar
Land Of Make Believe - Bridgemen (they also used as a concert)

Closers:
Chase The Clouds Away - Blue Devils
Danny Boy - 27th Lancers
Auld Lang Syne - Kilties


Obviously this is not all inclusive or complete. I just wanted to throw together a list to get us going. I know I will be adding more later, but this is what I could remember the best and like I said, I wanted to get a start to this thread. We all have favorite music from the other corps, it would be interesting to see which ones that others come up with on here.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Openers:

Guadachanal March/El Capitan--Boston Crusaders
Spellbound Theme/National Emblem--Blessed Sacrament
Victory at Sea--Belleville Black Knights
My Kinda Town Chicago Is/Ballyhoo March--Royal Airs
King of Kings/French National Defile--Garfield
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue--Madison (75)
New York New York--Madison
Georgia on My Mind--Atlanta
Big Country--Blessed Sacrament
William Tell Overature--Bridgemen
Channel One Suite--Blue Devils

Flag Presentations:

Stars and Stripes Forever--St Kevin's
John Brown's Body--Royal Airs
Stars and Stripes Forever--Madison 76 (doubled as opener)

Concerts:

Lets Face the Music and Dance/Give Me the Simple Life--Blessed Sacrament
What Kind of Fool Goes to Paris In April--Royal Airs
Hello Dolly--Vasella Musketeers
Legend of A One Eyed Sailor--Blue Devils
Down By the Station--Skyliners
The Stripper--Yankee Rebels
Peanut Vendor--Hawthorne

Other Numbers/Production

Who Can I Turn To--Norwood
Por Favor--Blessed Sacrament
Dancero--Norwood
Baubles, Bangles and Beads--Guardsment
I Got Rhythm/Facinating Rhythm--Sacramento Freelancers
I Got Rhythm/Facinating Rhythm--Blue Devils
Polka Dots and Moonbeams--Boston Crusaders
Frenizi--St Kevin's Emerald Knights
Zing Went the Strings of My Heart--Boston Crusaders
More--Norwood
Don't Cha Go Away Mad--Madison

Closers

Walkin My Baby Back Home--Norwood
Laura--Blessed Sacrament
Where Are You--Royal Airs
High and the Mighty--Norwood
Dindi--Blue Devils
Like A Lover--Blue Devils
Let It Be Me--Atlanta
Kiss the Day Goodbye--Bridgemen
The Shadow of Your Smile--Royal Airs
The Way We Were--Madison (75 and 76)
Our Love Affair--Royal Airs Alumni
Chase the Clouds Away--Blue Devils
I'll Remember April--Hawthorne

Was tempted to download the drum corps singles playlist from my iPod so you're all lucky I'm doing this from my laptop.

OPENERS
Cavaliers "Bully" (1966 and others)
Norwood "El Cid" (1970)
Troopers "Hang 'Em High" (1970 I think)
Madison "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" (1975)
SCV "Fanfare and Allegro" (1972-73)
Blue Devils "Channel One Suite" (1976-77)
Spirit "Old Man River" (1980 - ok, I'm a little prejudiced, but still...)

FLAG PRES/2nd NUMBER
Royal Airs "John Brown's Body" (1966)
Anaheim "March to the Scaffold" (1974)
Kilties "Variations on America" (1972)

CONCERT
Madison "God Bless the Child" (1973-74)
Madison "MacArthur Park" (1975)
Blue Devils "Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor" (1974-76)
Argonne "Jesus Christ Superstar" (1972)
Spirit "Sweet Georgia Brown" (1979-80)

OUT OF CONCERT
SCV "Fiddler on the Roof" (MANY years)
Madison "Rhapsody in Blue" (1975)
Troopers "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (1972)
Blue Stars "South Rampart Street Parade" (1972 - also Norwood 1979)
Cavaliers "Tiger Rag" 1966

EXIT
Norwood "Day in the Life of a Fool" (1970-71)
27th Lancers "Danny Boy" (EVERY year)
SCV "Send in the Clowns" (1974)
Blue Devils "Chase the Clouds Away" (1976)
Norwood "Walking My Baby Back Home" (1966)
Cavaliers "Rainbow" (many years, many different arrangements)
Spirit "Let It Be Me" (MANY years - in 1980 we called it "Let It Be THREE", and apparently in 81 they called it "Let It Be Redundant")
Royal Airs "Shadow of Your Smile" (1966)
Boston "On a Clear Day" (1967)

And I will add a NEW category:

DRUM SOLOS
Spirit "Devil Went Down to Georgia" (1980-81)
Cavaliers "120" 1966
Blue Devils "Channel One Suite" 1976 (not as good in 77)
SCV "Stone Ground Seven" (1980, although the line wasn't good that year)
Norwood "Santana" (1972 - can't remember the exact song, but it was a pretty cool solo for it's time)
SCV "Young Person's Guide to Drum Corps" (1974)
Anaheim's 2nd solo (1972-73)
Boston's 2nd solo (1967 - STILL can't figure it out!)

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Dave - that Cavalier solo was "Green Soul", and it was the second solo in both 1974 and 1975. I felt it was one of the most musical uses of the new keyboard instruments. Our DM freaked out ta finals in 75 and started it MUCH faster than normal - we almost killed ourselves trying to play it, because there were one-handed 16th note cymbal rides much of the way through it!

And Bill Strauts, John Tomascek, and Mike Maggio were teaching the line in 72, so maybe John remembers what Santana song it was. It was a pretty strange solo for its time, but pretty cool!

Jerry - The Boston solo I'm thinking of was in 1967, but I don't think it was the 5/4 one. It just had an impossible snare lick towards the end that STILL knocks me out!

And I don't really remember much about SAC, because they were pretty much gone by the time I came into drum corps. I never actually saw them live, because they chose not to attend the first DCI in 72, then they folded.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob,

I went through my drum corps LPs and found that 67 drum solo from Boston. You are right, those snare licks were amazing. I tried to write them out but gave up as the clarity of the album wasn't good enough or clear enough to get an accurate read on them. But WOW , that snare line had some major chops! You're also right that it wasn't the 5/4 solo which I believe was either 69 or 70. That solo turned me on to Boston's drum line back then. It's amazing how far drum lines have strayed from what they once were. I like some of the newer stuff that I hear, but not the sound of the drums themselves. The kevlar heads just sound like beating on a wood plank instead of how the snares sounded back then. Also liked your Cavalier lines back then. One of my best friends, Bob Webster marched in your tenor line back then. Did you march with Larry Pawlowski? I have been good friends with him for years. He and i went to college together for a couple of years.

Even the drum lines back then had their own distinctive sound i.e. Cavaliers very rudimentally oriented. Kilts played a lot of Scotch style rudiments, Boston's polyrhythmic style, Anaheim's balls out snare line, Argonne's trainwreck battery section, and SC had a very heavy handed rudimental approach with a fantastic tonal approach especially with their toms, bass, and that incredible tymp line.

I still enjoy hearing all of those lines on my iPod 30+ years later. The old lines easily can withstand the test of time. We were all very fortunate to march ina an era where drum corps was truly unique and consistently broke new ground. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. I am very proud of all of our accomplishments. Too bad DCI has strayed so far, which has caused many corps to not continue the tradition of training kids from scratch to be very good and sometimes superior musicians.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Dave,
I started out a drummer as my father was a pro dance band drummer and I had a pair of sticks in my hand by the time I was 4 or 5. Played drums in my high school marching band also, while I was playing a horn in the drum and bugle corps. The most important training I had was being friends with Tom Sorenson of Kilts, Jim Campbell in Guardsmen and the close friendship I had with Al LeMert. I usually got bored during drill rehearsals so Al would teach me snare licks, how to tune the drums, why certain drums projected better and and what pitch the sound carried farther, as well as how to rip them apart and put them back together again. I personally taught my high school band's percussion section, learning a great deal more as I went along. Although my major instrument in college was trumpet and I played baritone in Kilts, I took a lot of percussion classes to make sure that I would be a more complete teacher once I got my teaching job.

I was a sponge when it came to percussion and enjoyed working with my high school line. They won 4 State Titles in 6 years and were 2nd the other two. So, I guess I was a quick study........thanks to Tom, Jim, Al and every percussion specialist I have ever taught with or come in contact with. I guess that is why I like to think that I have a good understanding of technique, good players and good lines.

Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it although I will always defer judgement on things that you, Bob and all the other real percussionists know more that I. Again thanks for the compliment.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

In reply to Dave, I agree totally with your accessment of both Tom and Al. When I was in Kilts I hung out with Ken Norman and he taught me how to arrange for drum corps. It was great because his best friend was Tom Sorenson and I got a chance to pick his brains. He really was the one who brought the scotch drumming to Kilts and his study of the style was intense. He share many of his ideas with Ken and many times I was there for the brainstorming sessions. Tom also was one of the best snare technicians and players that I have ever seen or heard. He won the national snare title 2 or 3 times and was a wizard with sticks.

As for LeMert, it is obvious that Dave and I share a mutual respect and admiration for Al. You are right, he was a tremendous teacher. Jim Campbell can attest to that as he was Guardsmen's drum instructor while Al was corps director. Al always had a very natural way to make comments and suggestions on how Jim could improve the line. Jim also had the advantage and/or access to the product development department at Ludwig because Al ran that department. Al had patience and was a very friendly guy who shared his knowledge with whomever had the wisdom to seek it. I spent countless hours with him a Guardsmen talking about drums, sound projection, technique and whatever the topic of the day was. He was instrumental in the development of many excellent instructors and judges. The last time I saw Al was in Florida. He was living and running his business and I happened to be passing through on a front trip for a band tour to Disney World. We had a great talk and when I left he handed me a big box of sticks and mallets that he wanted me to try out with my line, along with several Silverfox Tshirts and enough Siverfox stickers for everyone in the line. Incidentally, his company was named after his own personal nickname that was given to him by people who worked with him and knew him in the activity. He was a great guy and I miss him. He should be in the DCI Hall of Fame, no doubt about it.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager