1966 VFW - NEW YORK, NY

Major Scores. Contests held at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ
Junior prelims (49 corps competed)
1. Troopers 88.45
2. Des Plaines Vanguard 86.95
3. Cavaliers 86.90
4. Boston Crusaders 86.00
5. Royal Airs 85.70
6. Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights 85.60
7. St. Lucy’s Cadets (NJ) 84.8
8. Kilties 82.65
9. Norwood Park Imperials 84.35
10. Madison Scouts 84.00
11. St. Josephs NY 83.40
12. St. Kevin’s Emerald Knights 83.35

Junior Finals (12 corps):
1. Troopers 90.45
2. Cavaliers 89.65
3. Boston Crusaders 88.55
4. Des Plaines Vanguard 87.4
5. Blessed Sacrament 87.25
6. Royal Airs 85.5
7. St. Lucy’s 84.65
8. Kilties 82.75
9. St. Joseph’s 82.00
10. St. Kevin’s 79.7
11. Imperials 79.4
12. Madison Scouts 77.80
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From David Borck:

The corps was better in 1966, with good results through the season.
Norwood did fairly well in the prelims and looked forward to the Finals. But, a corps which hadn’t made the finals by a small margin, the Immaculate Conception Reveries, from Boston, staged a protest. By a trick, they managed to enter the field and stage a sit-down on the contest starting line! Must have been quite a sight!

While the VW officials tried to resolve this, the contest was delayed. All the corps arriving for their performances were forced to wait. I still believe that this hurt the Imperials. (This corps later became the 27th Lancers).
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From John Anderson:
In 1966 about a dozen of us got on the subway and went to Coney Island to ride the Cyclone and a few other coasters. I think that a few of the instructors and guys close to 21 with fake IDs went into the Manhattan Playboy Club that year as well.

What did you do in the Corps? percussion

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Music from 1966

On A Wonderful Day Like Today (from Roar of the Greasepaint) * Who Can I Turn To (from Roar of the Greasepaint) * Malaguena * It's A Long Way To Tipperary * My Buddy (from I'll See You In My Dreams) * Walking My Baby Back Home

What did you do in the Corps? percussion

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Dave,

You didn't include concert "The Breeze and I" and "I may be Wrong." We also played "Dancero" out of concert.

The two concert pieces were arranged by Bill Hayes, Sac's brass instructor in the late 50s through 1961.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 1959-1961 Cadets 1962-1966 Imperials

I loved that 1966 show, but always wondered, why two concert pieces?

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

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

"I may be wrong" was very similar to an arrangement of "You're driving me crazy" that Sac played in 1959. "The Breeze and I" I believe was a variation of another Hayes arrangement played by another New Jersey Corps in the late 50s. The combination in 1966 concert is similar to Sac's concert in 1959 (In the Still of the Night then You're Driving Me Crazy).
Pennington arranged "Dancero" in 1966 to sound similar to "Por Favor" which Sac played in 1959 through 1961. I recollect that Sal Ferria (Cavaliers Brass guy) didn't like to judge us in 1966 because we sounded too much like Blessed Sacrament from the late 50s and early 60s who the Cavaliers generally lost to at the national level.

There was another Bill Hayes arrangement in 1965--"My Baby Just Cares for Me." I believe that was Brian's arrangement by is very similar to the Liberty Bell Cadets of the mid-50s. I remember that after a show in New Jersey in 1965 the brass judge said he was the one who used to play Bill Blomquist's solo when he was in Liberty Bell.

From my personal stand point, I'd have perferred that if we were going to sound like SAC, we play their concert for 1963 (What is this Thing Called Love and Give Me the Simple Life) and "Por Favor" instead of "Dancero."

Anyway, until I heard the Blue Devils in the mid-1970s the Bill Hayes and Jim Day (1961-1964) Sac hornlines had the best sound for the old bugles.

Of course I recollect that a story in the early 1960s was that Sac hornlines did a little cheating. In addition to the valve and rotor, their first sopranos had a slide which would allow them to get certain notes that couldn't be played on the regulation valve-rotor bugles. Don't know if they did that in Nationals but I do remember seeing the slides on the sopranos as they were getting ready to go on the field for a show we were in in Newark late in the 1965 season. So they might have been about 30 years ahead of DCI's 3 valve horns.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 1959-1961 Cadets 1962-1966 Imperials

John, those Bill Hayes/ Sac concert arrangements were great! Actually all his arrangements were unique. "Por Favor" and "Witchcraft" are two more examples.

Part of their success is also due to the drum arrangements by Bobby Thompson. Very good enhancement (and strong rhythmic support) for the brass. In 1963, they even formed a "drum set" with a snare, bass, tenor and cymbals in concert!
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What did you do in the Corps? percussion

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Dave,

Wasn't quite sure about Bill Hayes' tenure at Blessed Sac so I checked out their website. His last year as brass instructor and m&m instructor was 1959. Jim Day took over in 1960 but they played Hayes' arrangements (most of the stuff was same as 1959). Jim Day was engaged through 1964. He's the guy who did Witchcraft, Give Me the Simple Life, Big Country and Laura. There was a big change in Blessed Sac's sound after 1964 season. Tend to sound more like St Lucy's in 1965 and later years. Don't know who came after Jim Day as I lost interest in them after the 1964 season as their sound changed too much.

Maybe part of the reason I like the Blue Devils is they've had the same arranger for a very long time. Be interesting to hear them this year as they reprise some of their Stan Kenton songs from 30 years ago and have added Laura which I only remember Sac playing in the past. Expect that will be some variation of Stan Kenton's arrangement.

I also noted on the 2010 repitores listed on the corpsreps site that Madison is playing Slaugher on Tenth Avenue and Rapsody in Blue which is really reaching back to their 1975 DCI championship show--all they need to add is The Way We Were.