John Philip Sousa

File:Sousa birthplace.jpg

John Philip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C., the third of 10 children of João António de Sousa (John Anthony Sousa) (September 22, 1824 – April 27, 1892), who was born in Spain to Portuguese parents, and his wife Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus (May 20, 1826 – August 25, 1908), who was German and from Bavaria.Bierley 2001, p. 23, 241.{{cite web|author=Paul E. Bierley|publisher=Library of Congress|title=Biographies: John Philip Sousa|url= https://loc.gov/item/ihas.200152755}}Warfield, Patrick. [http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=201 "John Philip Sousa."] In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 4, edited by Jeffrey Fear. German Historical Institute. Last modified May 27, 2014. Sousa began his music education under the tuition of John Esputa Sr., who taught him solfeggio.{{sfn|Bierley|1973|pp=28–29}} However, this was short-lived due to the teacher's frequent bad temper.{{sfn|Bierley|1973|pp=28–29}} Sousa's real music education began in 1861 or 1862 as a pupil of John Esputa Jr., the son of his previous teacher under whom Sousa studied violin, piano, flute, several brass instruments, and singing.{{sfn|Bierley|1973|pp=28–29}} Esputa shared his father's bad temper, and the relationship between teacher and pupil was often strained, but Sousa progressed very rapidly and was also found to have perfect pitch.{{sfn|Bierley|1973|pp=28–29}} During this period, Sousa wrote his first composition, "An Album Leaf", but Esputa dismissed it as "bread and cheese", and the composition was subsequently lost.{{sfn|Bierley|1973|pp=28–29}}

Sousa's father was a trombonist in the Marine Band, and he enlisted Sousa in the United States Marine Corps as an apprentice at age 13 to keep him from joining a circus band.{{cite web|title=A Biography of John Philip Sousa|url=https://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/sousa.html|work=A Capitol Fourth – PBS|publisher=Capital Concerts|access-date=January 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040810020247/https://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/sousa.html|archive-date=August 10, 2004}} That same year, Sousa began studying music under George Felix Benkert.{{sfn|Bierley|1973|p=32}} Sousa was enlisted under a minority enlistment, meaning that he would not be discharged until his 21st birthday.

File:1893sousaband.jpg

In 1868,[http://navylog.navymemorial.org/sousa-john-3 John Phillips Sousa], United States Navy Memorial. Sousa enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 13 as an apprentice musician (his rank listed as "boy"). Sousa completed his apprenticeship and left the Marine Corps 1875. He then began performing on the violin and joined a theatrical pit orchestra where he learned to conduct.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007183007/http://www.dws.org/sousa/learn/timeline |archive-date=October 7, 2011 |url=http://www.dws.org/sousa/learn/timeline |access-date=September 16, 2018 |title=A Brief Timeline of Sousa's Life |work=Dallas Wind Symphony}}

Sousa returned to the Marine Band as its head in 1880 and remained as its conductor until 1892. During this period, Sousa led the Marine Band through its development into the country's premier military band. He led "The President's Own" band under five presidents from Rutherford B. Hayes to Benjamin Harrison. Sousa's band played at the inaugural balls of James A. Garfield in 1881 and Benjamin Harrison in 1889.{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres36.html|title=Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States|author=James A. Garfield|year=1989|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110515041028/http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres36.html |archive-date = May 15, 2011|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres38.html|title=Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States|author=Benjamin Harrison|year=1989|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110515040909/http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres38.html |archive-date = May 15, 2011|url-status=live}}

In July 1892, Sousa requested a discharge from the Marine Corps to pursue a financially promising civilian career as a band leader.{{cite news|newspaper=The New-York Times |date=August 1, 1892 |title=Sousa Leaves the Marine Band |page=1 |volume=XLI |issue=((12,772)) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/08/01/archives/sousa-leaves-the-marine-band.html |url-access=subscription |id={{ProQuest|94976417}}}} Sousa organized The Sousa Band the year that he left the Marine Band, and it toured from 1892 to 1931 and performed at 15,623 concerts,{{sfn|Bierley|2006}} both in America and internationally,{{cite web|title=The Sousa Band|url=http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/sousa/aa_sousa_band_1.html|work=America's Story|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=January 1, 2013|archive-date=December 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215021642/http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/sousa/aa_sousa_band_1.html|url-status=dead}} including at the World Exposition in Paris and at the Royal Albert Hall in London.[http://catalogue.royalalberthall.com/Overview.aspx?src=CalmView.Performance Royal Albert Hall Archives] In Paris, the Sousa Band marched through the streets to the Arc de Triomphe, one of only eight parades that the band marched in during its 40 years.{{sfn|Bierley|2006|page=46}}

{{listen|type=music|filename=Washington Post.ogg|title="The Washington Post"|description=The United States Marine Band performs "The Washington Post"}}

Sousa was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve on May 31, 1917, shortly after the United States declared war on Germany and entered World War I. He was 62 years old, the mandatory retirement age for Navy officers. During the war, Sousa led the Navy Band at the Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago,Bierley 2001, p. 250. and he donated all of his naval salary except a token $1 per month to the Sailors' and Marines' Relief Fund.Bierley 2001, p. 78. Sousa was discharged from active duty after the end of the war in November 1918 and returned to conducting his own band. In the early 1920s, Sousa was promoted to lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve but did not return to active duty. He frequently wore his Navy uniform during performances for the remainder of his life.

For his service during the war, Sousa received the World War I Victory Medal and was elected as a Veteran Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. He was also a member of the New York Athletic Club and Post 754 of the American Legion.

On December 30, 1879, Sousa married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis (February 22, 1862 – March 11, 1944), who was descended from Adam Bellis who served in the New Jersey troops during the American Revolutionary War.{{cite web|publisher=Daughters of the American Revolution, 1922|title=Lineage Book|volume=61–62|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7HgZAQAAIAAJ&q=%22jane+priscilla+sousa%22+%22Adam+Bellis%22&pg=PA165|page=165|access-date=August 13, 2015|year=1922}} They had three children: John Jr. (April 1, 1881 – May 18, 1937), Jane Priscilla (August 7, 1882 – October 28, 1958), and Helen (January 21, 1887 – October 14, 1975).{{cite web|last=McSherry|first=Jack L. Jr.|title=John Philip Sousa|url=http://www.spanamwar.com/Sousa.htm|work=The Spanish–American War Centennial Website|access-date=January 1, 2013}}

On July 15, 1881, the "March King" was initiated into Freemasonry by Hiram Lodge No. 10 (Now Hiram-Takoma Lodge No. 10) in Washington, D.C., where Sousa remained an active member until his death in 1932. Among other Masonic honors, Sousa was named the Honorary Band Leader of the Temple Band of Almas Shriners, the DC-based Chapter of Shriners International.{{cite news | author1= Paul E. Bierley |url = http://www.themasonictrowel.com/masonic_talk/stb/stbs/97-11.htm | title = Biography of John Philip Sousa | date= October 28, 1997 | journal= Scottish Rite Journal | quotation = Paul E. Bierley is a member of Whitehall No. 761, Whitehall, Ohio. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051106063442/http://www.themasonictrowel.com/masonic_talk/stb/stbs/97-11.htm | archive-date = November 6, 2005 | url-status = live}} A number of his compositions were for the organization, including the "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" March.

File:John Phillip Sousa Grave memorial.jpgFile:John Philip Sousa Grave Washington DC.jpg]]

In his later years, Sousa lived in Sands Point, New York. On March 6, 1932, he died of heart failure at age 77 in his room at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania. Sousa had conducted a rehearsal of "The Stars and Stripes Forever" the day before with the Ringgold Band as its guest conductor.{{cite news | url = https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1106.html | title = John Philip Sousa, Band Leader, Dies in Hotel at Reading |date = March 6, 1932 | work=The New York Times|department=(special edition)| quotation = His musical education began at 7. He had already made up his mind that he wanted to be a musician, and four years later he won all the medals at the conservatory, the beginning of his collection of decorations, which is said to be the largest in his field in the world. That same year he became a violin soloist. | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180825190500/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1106.html | archive-date = August 25, 2018 | url-status = live}} Sousa is buried at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.{{cite web|url=http://www.congressionalcemetery.org/ |title=Congressionalcemetery.org |publisher=Congressionalcemetery.org |access-date=December 6, 2012}} Every year on November 6, the Marine Band performs Semper Fidelis at Sousa's grave. His house Wildbank has been designated as a National Historic Landmark, although it remains a private home and is not open to the public.{{citation|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: John Philip Sousa Home|url={{NHLS url|id=66000532}} |format=pdf|author=Richard Greenwood|date=May 30, 1975|publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=66000532|title=Accompanying photos, exterior, from 1975|photos=y}} {{small|(1.09 MB)}}

Sousa has surviving descendants today; one of his great-grandsons, John Philip Sousa IV, works as a political activist for the Republican Party.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/nyregion/john-philip-sousa-iv-with-help-from-a-famous-surname-dabbles-in-politics.html |title=John Philip Sousa IV, with Help from a Famous Surname, Dabbles in Politics |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 3, 2016 |access-date=January 31, 2020 |archive-date=January 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200131083355/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/nyregion/john-philip-sousa-iv-with-help-from-a-famous-surname-dabbles-in-politics.html |url-status=live |last1=Barron |first1=James }}

Sousa was decorated with the palms of the Order of Public Instruction of Portugal and the Order of Academic Palms of France. He also received the Royal Victorian Medal from King Edward VII of the United Kingdom in December 1901 for conducting a private birthday concert for Queen Alexandra.{{cite web|url=http://www.traphof.org/Inductees/Sousa-John-Phillip.html|title= Inductees|work=Trapshooting Hall of Fame}}{{cite web|url=http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Sousa__John_Philip.html|title=John Philip Sousa|work=Penn State |date= Fall 2006 |first1=Audrey A. |last1=Markovich |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426195807/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Sousa__John_Philip.html|archive-date=April 26, 2015}}

In 1922, Sousa accepted the invitation of the national chapter to become an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band fraternity.{{cite web|title=Prominent Members |url=http://www.kkpsi.org/prominentmembers.asp |work=Kappa Kappa Psi |access-date=January 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110716182330/http://www.kkpsi.org/prominentmembers.asp |archive-date=July 16, 2011 }} In 1932, he was initiated as an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national fraternity for men in music, by the fraternity's Alpha Xi chapter at the University of Illinois.{{Cite web |title=Famous Sinfonians |website=Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia |url=https://www.sinfonia.org/famous-sinfonians/ |access-date=April 11, 2022}}

File:John Philip Sousa 1940 Issue-2c.jpg

The World War II Liberty ship {{SS|John Philip Sousa}} was named in Sousa's honor. The Marine Band possesses the ship's bell, using it in performances of the "Liberty Bell March".{{cite web |title=SOUSA The Liberty Bell - "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band |website=YouTube |date=March 3, 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7FD9PNpfpo}}

In 1952, 20th Century Fox honored Sousa in their Technicolor feature film Stars and Stripes Forever with Clifton Webb portraying him. It was loosely based on Sousa's memoirs Marching Along.{{cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|title=Stars and Stripes Forever (1952) |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/46675/Stars-and-Stripes-Forever/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628233339/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/46675/Stars-and-Stripes-Forever/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 28, 2010 |work=The New York Times|author-link=Bosley Crowther|date=2010|access-date=January 13, 2013}}

In 1987, an act of Congress named "The Stars and Stripes Forever" as the national march of the United States.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-hl0Fc6AQUkC&pg=PA495 |page=495 |title=The American Patriot's Almanac: Daily Readings on America |isbn=978-1-59555-375-1 |publisher=Thomas Nelson |year=2013 |first1=William J. |last1=Bennett |first2=John T.E. |last2=Cribb}}

In 2012, a crater on the planet Mercury was named in Sousa's honor. He was posthumously enshrined in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1976.

Sousa was a member of the Sons of the Revolution, Military Order of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Freemasons, and the Society of Artists and Composers. He was also a member of the Salmagundi, Players, Musicians, New York Athletic, Lambs, Army and Navy and the Gridiron clubs of Washington.

{{See also|1=List of compositions by John Philip Sousa}}

{{listen

| type = music

| filename = John Philip Sousa - U.S. Marine Band - Semper Fidelis March.ogg

| title = "Semper Fidelis"

| description = Sousa's "Semper Fidelis", the official march of the United States Marine Corps, performed by the U.S. Marine Band in June 1909.

| filename2 = USMC stars stripes forever.ogg

| title2 = "The Stars and Stripes Forever"

| description2 = The United States Marine Band performs "The Stars and Stripes Forever", the national march of the United States

| filename3 = U.S. Air Force Band - John Philip Sousa - The Gladiator March.ogg

| title3 = The Gladiator March

| description3 = "The Gladiator March", Sousa's first hit.

| filename4 = King Cotton.ogg

| title4 = King Cotton

| description4 = "King Cotton", an 1895 Sousa military march.

| filename5 = The Gallant Seventh.ogg

| title5 = The Gallant Seventh

| description5 = "The Gallant Seventh", was in the 1920s and is distinguished as his only march with two breakstrains.

| filename6 = The Thunderer.ogg

| title6 = The Thunderer

| description6 = Sousa's "The Thunderer" (1889), performed in 1896 by the United States Marine Band

| filename7 = Manhattan Beach.ogg

| title7 = Manhattan Beach

| description7 = "Manhattan Beach", a commemorative march by John Philip Sousa.

| filename8 = Hands Across the Sea.ogg

| title8 = Hands Across the Sea

| description8 = Sousa's "Hands Across the Sea" (1899), performed by the United States Navy Band

| filename9 = The Fairest of the Fair.ogg

| title9 = The Fairest of the Fair

| description9 = Sousa's "Fairest of the Fair" (1908), performed by the United States Navy Band

| title10 = The Minnesota March

| filename10 = The Minnesota March by John Philip Sousa (1927) performed by the U.S. Marine Band.ogg

| description10 = "The Minnesota March" (1927), performed by the United States Marine Band.

}}

Sousa wrote over 130 marches, 15 operettas, 5 overtures, 11 suites, 24 dances, 28 fantasies, and countless arrangements of nineteenth-century western European symphonic works.{{Cite web |url=http://archives.library.illinois.edu/archon/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=3132 |title=John Philip Sousa Music and Personal Papers, circa 1880–1932. |access-date=November 12, 2015 |publisher=The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music }}

{{main|List of marches by John Philip Sousa}}

Sousa wrote over 130 marches, published by Harry Coleman of Philadelphia, Carl Fischer Music, the John Church Company, and the Sam Fox Publishing Company, the last association beginning in 1917 and continuing until his death."Sam Fox, 89, Dies; Music Publisher", The New York Times, December 1, 1971 Some of his more well-known marches include:

• "Review" (1873) (Sousa's first published march)
• "The Gladiator March" (1886)
• "Semper Fidelis" (1888) (Official March of the United States Marine Corps)
• "The Washington Post" (1889)
• "The Thunderer" (1889)
• "The Loyal Legion March" (1890)
• "High School Cadets" (1890)
• "The Liberty Bell" (1893) (later used as the credits theme for Monty Python's Flying Circus TV series)
• "Manhattan Beach March" (1893)
• "King Cotton" (1895)
• "Stars and Stripes Forever" (1896) (National March of the United States){{cite web |title=US Code: Title 36, 304 |publisher=Cornell Law School |date=October 30, 2006 |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/36/304- |access-date=November 2, 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101207040538/http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode36/usc_sec_36_00000304----000-.html |archive-date = December 7, 2010|url-status=live}}
• "El Capitan" (1896)
• "Hands Across the Sea" (1899)
• "Hail to the Spirit of Liberty" March (1900)
• "The Invincible Eagle" (1901) (dedicated to Pan-American Buffalo Exposition) (Interim United States Space Force Anthem)
• "Imperial Edward" March (1902) Dedicated to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom{{Cite web|url=https://www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Complete-Marches-of-John-Philip-Sousa/Imperial-Edward-March/|title=Imperial Edward March|website=www.marineband.marines.mil|access-date=January 30, 2020}}
• "Fairest of the Fair" (1908)
• "Glory of the Yankee Navy" (1909)
• "Columbia's Pride" (1914)
• "U.S. Field Artillery" (1917) (modified version "The Army Goes Rolling Along" is the official song of the U.S. Army)[https://web.archive.org/web/20040119072703/http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r220_90.pdf Army Regulation 220–90], Army Bands, November 27, 2000, para 2-5f, g
• "Anchor & Star" (1918) Dedicated "To the U.S. Navy"{{Cite web|url=https://www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Complete-Marches-of-John-Philip-Sousa/Anchor-and-Star-March/|title=Anchor and Star March|website=www.marineband.marines.mil|access-date=January 28, 2020}}
• "Who's Who in Navy Blue" (1920) (composed at the request of the United States Naval Academy class of 1920 and dedicated to Tamanend, a bronze reproduction of the figurehead of {{USS|Delaware|1820|6}} that occupies a key place at the Academy){{sfn|Bierley|1984|p=96}}
• "The Gallant Seventh" (1922)
• "The Dauntless Battalion" (1922) Dedicated "To Col. Hyatt, the Faculty and Cadets of the Pennsylvania Military College" (Now Widener University in Chester, PA){{Cite web |title=The Dauntless Battalion |url=https://www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Complete-Marches-of-John-Philip-Sousa/The-Dauntless-Battalion/ |access-date=November 23, 2022 |website=www.marineband.marines.mil}}
• "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" (1923)
• "The Black Horse Troop" (1924) (written in honor of Troop A, 107th Cavalry, Ohio National Guard).{{cite web|url=http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=TA |title=Troop A – The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History |publisher=Ech.case.edu |access-date=December 6, 2012}}
• "Pride of the Wolverines" (1926)
• "The Minnesota March" (1927) Dedicated to "The faculty and students of the University of Minnesota"{{Cite web |title=Minnesota March |url=https://cla.umn.edu/music/ensembles/marching-band/history-traditions/school-songs/minnesota-march |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522203941/https://cla.umn.edu/music/ensembles/marching-band/history-traditions/school-songs/minnesota-march |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=University of Minnesota: College of Liberal Arts |publisher= |language=en |quote=Adapted from the U of M Marching Band Centennial Book, Minnesota Hats Off to Thee, ©1992}}
• "New Mexico March" (1928)
• "Salvation Army March" (1930) (dedicated to the Salvation Army's 50th anniversary in the U.S.)

File:Sousa1930RoyalWelshFusiliersPremiere.ogv" on May 12, 1930 at the White House{{Cite web |title=The Royal Welch Fusiliers |url=https://www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Complete-Marches-of-John-Philip-Sousa/The-Royal-Welch-Fusiliers/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502223949/https://www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Complete-Marches-of-John-Philip-Sousa/The-Royal-Welch-Fusiliers/ |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=www.marineband.marines.mil}}]]

Sousa wrote marches for several American universities, including the University of Minnesota,{{cite web|title=Minnesota March|url=https://music.umn.edu/ensembles/marchingmnmarch|work=University of Minnesota Marching Band|publisher=University of Minnesota School of Music|access-date=January 11, 2016}} University of Illinois,{{cite web|last=Frank |first=Brendan |title=The Legacy of Illinois Bands |url=http://bands.illinois.edu/history |work=Illinois Bands |publisher=College of Fine and Applied Arts – University of Illinois |access-date=November 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512015409/http://bands.illinois.edu/history |archive-date=May 12, 2011 }} University of Nebraska,{{cite news|title=Sousa writes special march for Nebraska|url=http://unlhistory.unl.edu/items/show/364|access-date=November 30, 2012|newspaper=The Daily Nebraskan|date=February 22, 1928|location=Lincoln, Nebraska}} Kansas State University,{{cite web|title=History – Kansas State Bands |url=http://www.k-state.edu/band/history.html |work=Kansas State Bands |publisher=Kansas State University Bands |access-date=November 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002050628/http://www.k-state.edu/band/history.html |archive-date=October 2, 2012 }} Marquette University,{{cite web|title=Student Organizations – Band|url=http://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/SuperA/A-8-3_Band.shtml|publisher=Marquette University|access-date=November 30, 2012|archive-date=July 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703183207/http://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/SuperA/A-8-3_Band.shtml|url-status=dead}} Pennsylvania Military College (Widener University), and the University of Michigan.

{{main|List of operettas by John Philip Sousa}}

Sousa wrote many notable operettas, including:

• Désirée (1883), libretto by Edward M. Taber
• El Capitan (1896), libretto by Charles Klein
• The Charlatan (1898), also known as The Mystical Miss, book by Charles Klein and lyrics by Sousa{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/charlatancomicop00sous |title=Vocal score of The Charlatan |date=March 10, 2001 |access-date=April 7, 2012}}
• Chris and the Wonderful Lamp (1899), libretto by Glen MacDonough

Marches and waltzes have been derived from many of these stage-works. Sousa also composed the music for six operettas that were either unfinished or not produced: The Devils' Deputy, Florine, The Irish Dragoon, Katherine, The Victory, and The Wolf.{{cite web|title=John Philip Sousa|url=http://www.musicaltheatreguide.com/composers/sousa/sousa.htm|work=Guide to Musical Theatre – Operetta|publisher=The Guide to Musical Theatre|access-date=January 1, 2013}}

In addition, Sousa wrote a march based on themes from Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado, the elegant overture Our Flirtations, several musical suites, etc.Hughes, Gervase. Composers of Operetta, New York, 1962 He frequently added Sullivan opera overtures or other Sullivan pieces to his concerts.Bierley 2001, p. 102

Sousa was quoted saying, "My religion lies in my composition."{{cite web|url=http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnphilip278555.html |title=My religion lies in my composition |publisher=Brainyquote.com |date=March 6, 1932 |access-date=April 7, 2012}}

Sousa ranked as one of the all-time great trapshooters and was enshrined in the Trapshooting Hall of Fame.{{cite web| title=John Philip Sousa| url=http://www.traphof.org/inductees/sousa_john_philip.htm| publisher=National Trapshooting Hall of Fame| access-date=February 25, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080505070354/http://www.traphof.org/inductees/sousa_john_philip.htm |archive-date = May 5, 2008}} He organized the first national trapshooting organization, a forerunner to today's Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA). He also wrote numerous articles about trapshooting. He was a regular competitor representing the Navy in trapshooting competitions, particularly against the Army. Records indicate that Sousa registered more than 35,000 targets during his shooting career. "Let me say that just about the sweetest music to me is when I call, 'pull,' the old gun barks, and the referee in perfect key announces, 'dead'."

In Sousa's 1902 novella The Fifth String, a virtuoso violinist makes a deal with the Devil for a magic violin with five strings. The first four strings excite the emotions of Pity, Hope, Love, and Joy, but the fifth string, made from the hair of Eve, will cause the player's death once played. The violinist wins the love of the woman he desires, but out of jealous suspicion, she commands him to play the death string, which he does.{{cite book|author=John Philip Sousa|title=The fifth string|url=https://archive.org/details/fifthstring00sousgoog|access-date=January 9, 2013|year=1902|publisher=Bowen-Merrill}} Sousa published Pipetown Sandy in 1905, which includes a satirical poem titled "The Feast of the Monkeys".{{cite web|title=Pipetown Sandy: Sousa, John Philip, 1854–1932|url=https://archive.org/details/pipetownsandy00sousiala|work=Free Download & Streaming: Internet Archive|publisher=California Digital Library|access-date=January 1, 2013}} He wrote a 40,000-word story entitled "The Transit of Venus" in 1920.{{cite web|url=http://www.wgpark.com/page.asp?pid=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041021201305/http://wgpark.com/page.asp?pid=10 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 21, 2004 |title=Willow Grove Park |publisher=Wgpark.com |access-date=April 7, 2012 }} Sousa also wrote the booklet "A manual for trumpet and drum", published by the Ludwig Drum Company with advice for playing drums and trumpet. An early version of the trumpet solo to "Semper Fidelis" was included in this volume.{{cite book|author=John Philip Sousa|title=A book of instruction for the field-trumpet and drum: together with the trumpet and drum signals now in use in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kE9MAAAAMAAJ|access-date=January 9, 2013|year=1985|publisher=Ludwig Music Pub. Co.}}

The marching brass bass or sousaphone is a modified helicon created in 1893 by Philadelphia instrument maker J. W. Pepper at Sousa's request, using several of his suggestions in its design. Sousa wanted a tuba that could sound upward and over the band whether its player was seated or marching. C.G. Conn recreated the instrument in 1898, and this was the model that Sousa preferred to use.{{cite web|title=Sousaphone|url=http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texts/sousaphone.html|work=Virginia Tech Music Dictionary|publisher=Virginia Tech University|access-date=January 1, 2013|archive-date=October 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012000447/http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texts/Sousaphone.html|url-status=dead}}

File:Elcapitansheet.jpg, 1896]]

Sousa held a very low opinion of the emerging recording industry. He derided recordings as "canned music", a reference to the early wax cylinder records that came in can-like cylindrical cardboard boxes. He argued to a congressional hearing in 1906:

{{blockquote|These talking machines are going to ruin the artistic development of music in this country. When I was a boy... in front of every house in the summer evenings, you would find young people together singing the songs of the day or old songs. Today you hear these infernal machines going night and day. We will not have a vocal cord left. The vocal cord will be eliminated by a process of evolution, as was the tail of man when he came from the ape.}}

Sousa's antipathy to recording was such that he very rarely conducted his band when it was being recorded.{{cite web |title=John Philip Sousa |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/n79122078/john-philip-sousa/ |website=Library of Congress}} Nevertheless, the band made numerous recordings, the earliest being issued on cylinders by several companies, followed by many recordings on discs by the Berliner Gramophone Company and its successor, the Victor Talking Machine Company (later RCA Victor). The Berliner recordings were conducted by Henry Higgins (one of Sousa's cornet soloists) and Arthur Pryor (Sousa's trombone soloist and assistant conductor).Smart, James R., The Sousa Band: A Discography, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1970 Sousa claimed that he had "never been in the gramophone company's office in my life".{{cite book |last=Sousa |first=John Philip |editor-last=Warfield |editor-first=Patrick |date=2010 |title=Six marches |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bs9NT559O68C&pg=PR30 |publisher=A-R Editions, Inc. |page=30 |isbn=978-0-89579-675-2}} Sousa did conduct a few of the Victor recordings, but most were conducted by Pryor, Herbert L. Clarke, Edwin H. Clarke, Walter B. Rogers (who had also been a cornet soloist with Sousa), Rosario Bourdon, Josef Pasternack, or Nathaniel Shilkret. Details of the Victor recordings are available in the external link below to the EDVR.

After the introduction of electrical recording in 1925 Sousa changed his mind about phonograph records. After a demonstration of the Orthophonic Victrola on October 6, 1925, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel he said, "[Gentlemen], that is a band. This is the first time I have ever heard music with any soul to it produced by a mechanical talking machine."{{cite news|work=The New York Times|date=7 October 1925|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/10/07/archives/new-music-machine-thrills-all-hearers-at-first-test-here-researches.html|title=New Music Machine Thrills All Hearers At First Test Here|page=1}}

Sousa also appeared with his band in newsreels and on radio broadcasts, beginning with a 1929 nationwide broadcast on NBC.

File:JohnPhilipSousa-Chickering.LOC.jpg]]

Even after his death, Sousa continues to be remembered as "The March King" through the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The non-profit organization, founded in 1981, recognizes one superior student in marching band for "musicianship, dependability, loyalty, and cooperation."{{Cite web |url=http://www.dws.org/sousa/learn/questions/item/what-is-the-john-philip-sousa-award-for-band-students |title=What is the John Philip Sousa Award for band students? |last=Lovrien |first=David |website=www.dws.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708171607/http://www.dws.org/sousa/learn/questions/item/what-is-the-john-philip-sousa-award-for-band-students |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |access-date=October 19, 2016 }} The John Philip Sousa Foundation provides awards, scholarships, and projects such as The Sudler Trophy, The Sudler Shield, The Sudler Silver Scroll, The Sudler Flag of Honor, The Historic Roll of Honor, The Sudler Cup, The Hawkins Scholarship, National Young Artists, The National Community Band, and The Junior Honor Band Project.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sousafoundation.net/Default.aspx?ID=39|title=Sousa Foundation|website=www.sousafoundation.net|access-date=October 19, 2016}} He won many honorable awards across his lifetime.

{{Portal|Biography}}

• Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
• Academy of Music/Riviera Theatre
• William Bell (tuba player)
• John Philip Sousa Bridge
• Patrick Gilmore

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090503011457/http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=20078 75 years after death here, Sousa sells out the Abe – Reading Eagle Newspaper]
• Congressional hearing: in [https://ssrn.com/abstract=532882 Copyright's Communication Policy] by Professor Tim Woo, University of Virginia, May 2004 – Caution, 560k PDF.
• {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QcabC2avFLsC |title=John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon |first= Paul E. |last= Bierley |year=1973 |edition=revised |isbn=978-1-4574-4995-6 |publisher=Alfred Music }}
• {{cite book |first=Paul E. |last=Bierley |title=The Works of John Philip Sousa |location=Westerville, Ohio |publisher=Integrity Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-918048-04-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnphili00bier}}
• {{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QcabC2avFLsC |title= John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon |first= Paul E. |last= Bierley |publisher= Alfred Music |year= 2001 |isbn= 978-1-4574-4995-6 }}
• {{cite book|title=The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa |isbn=0-252-03147-4|last1=Bierley |first1=Paul E. |year = 2006|publisher=University of Illinois Press}}

• Berger, Kenneth W. The March King and His Band : The Story of John Philip Sousa. New York: Exposition Press, 1957.
• Bierley, Paul E. John Philip Sousa: A Descriptive Catalog of His Works. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1973.
• Delaplaine, Edward S. John Philip Sousa and the National Anthem. Frederick, MD: Great Southern Press, 1983.
• Heslip, Malcolm. Nostalgic Happenings in the Three Bands of John Philip Sousa. Westerville, OH: Integrity Press, 1992.
• Lingg, Ann M. John Philip Sousa. New York: Holt, 1954.
• Newsom, Jon, ed. Perspectives on John Philip Sousa. Washington: Library of Congress, 1983.
• Proksch, Bryan, ed. A Sousa Reader: Essays, Interviews, and Clippings. Chicago: GIA, 2017
• Warfield, Patrick. Making the March King: John Philip Sousa's Washington Years, 1854–1893 (University of Illinois Press; 2013) 331 pages; scholarly biography

• Bierley, Paul E. The Works of John Philip Sousa Columbus, OH: Integrity Press, 1984.
• Sousa, John Philip. Marching Along: Recollections of Men, Women and Music. Edited by Paul E. Bierley. Boston: Hale, Cushman & Flint, 1928, rev. 1994.
• Sousa, John Philip. National, Patriotic and Typical Airs of All Lands. N.Y.: Da Capo Press, 1977.
• Sousa, John Philip. Through the Year with Sousa: Excerpts from the Operas, Marches, Miscellaneous Compositions, Novels, Letters, Magazine Articles, Songs, Sayings and Rhymes of John Philip Sousa. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell &, 1910.
• Warfield, Patrick, ed. (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=bs9NT559O68C John Philip Sousa: Six Marches]. Music of the United States of America (MUSA) vol 21. Madison, Wisconsin: A-R Editions.

Articles

• Bennett, Jeb. "John Philip Sousa: 100th Anniversary." Marine Corps Gazette 64, no. 10 (1980): 31–34.
• Bierley, Paul E. "Sousa: America's Greatest Composer?" Musical Journal 25, no. 1 (1967): 83–87.
• Bierley, Paul E. "Sousa on Programming." Instrumentalist, December 1973.
• Bierley, Paul E. "Sousa's Mystery March." Instrumentalist, February 1966.
• Dvorak, Raymond F. "Recollections of Sousa's March Performances." School Musician, Director and Teacher, December 1969.
• Evenson, Orville. "The March Style of Sousa." Instrumentalist, November 1954.
• Fennell, Frederick. "Sousa: Still a Somebody." Instrumentalist, March 1982.
• Gaydos, Jeff. "Stars and Stripes and Sousa Forever!" Bandwagon, June 1980.
• Goldberg, Isaac. "Sousa." American Mercury 27 (1932): 193–200.
• Goldman, Richard Franko. "John Philip Sousa." HiFi/Stereo Review 19, no. 1 (1967): 35–47.
• Gordon, Marjorie M. "John Philip Sousa: A Centennial-Year Salute to the March King." Musical Journal 11, no. 11 (1954): 28–34.
• Heney, John J. "On the Road with the Sousa Band." School Musician, Director and Teacher, 1976.
• Howard, George S. "A New Era for Brass: Sousa's Role." Music Journal, January 1966.
• Intravaia, Lawrence J. "Wind Band Scoring Practices of Gilmore and Sousa." School Musician, Director and Teacher 36, no. 7 (March 1965): 62–63.
• Larson, Cedric. "John Philip Sousa as an Author." Etude, August 1941.
• Mangrum, Mary Gailey. "I Remember Sousa." Instrumentalist 24, no. 5 (1969): 38–41.
• Mangrum, Mary Gailey. "Sousa the Patriot." Instrumentalist 24, no. 6 (1970): 33–35.
• Marek, George Richard. "John Philip Sousa." HiFi/Musical America 23, no. 11 (1973): 57–61.
• Mathews, William Smith Babcock. "An Interview with John Philip Sousa." Music: A Monthly Magazine 9 (1896): 487–92.
• Mayer, Francis N. "John Philip Sousa: His Instrumentation and Scoring." Music Educator's Journal, January 1960.
• Peterson, O. A. "The Human Side of Sousa." Musical Messenger, May 1916.
• Pleasants, Henry. "A Look at Sousa: Ormandy and Critics." International Herald Tribune (Paris Edition), December 1969.
• "Sousa and His Mission." Music: A Monthly Magazine 16 (July 1899): 272–76.
• "Sousa as He Is." Music: A Monthly Magazine 14 (May 1899).
• "Sousa's New Marine Band." Musical Courier, November 9, 1892.
• Stoddard, Hope. "Sousa: Symbol of an Era." International Musician, December 1948.
• Thomson, Grace F. "Memories of the March King." Musical Journal 22, no. 5 (1964): 27–49.
• Trimborn, Thomas J. "In the Footsteps of Sousa." Instrumentalist 35, no. 4 (1980): 10–13.
• Wimbush, Roger. "Sousa at the "Proms"" Monthly Musical Record 68:238–40.

Dissertations

• Bly, Leon Joseph. "The March in American Society." Diss., University of Miami, 1977.
• Bowie, Gordon W. "R. B. Hall and the Community Bands of Maine." Diss., University of Maine, 1993.
• Carpenter, Kenneth William. "A History of the United States Marine Band." Diss., University of Iowa, 1971.
• Church, Charles Fremont. "The Life and Influence of John Philip Sousa." Diss., Ohio State University, 1942.
• Darling, Matthew H. "A Study and Catalogue of the Solos Composed, Arranged, and Transcribed for Xylophone and Band by John Joseph Heney (1902–1978), Percussionist (1926–31) and Xylophone Soloist (1931) with the John Philip Sousa Band." Diss., University of Arizona, 1998.
• Hemberger, Glen J. "Selected Songs for Chamber Winds and Soprano: Rediscovering a Forgotten Repertoire of John Philip Sousa." Diss., University of North Texas, 2001.
• Hester, Michael E. "A Study of the Saxophone Soloists Performing with the John Philip Sousa Band, 1893–1930." Diss., University of Arizona, 1995.
• Jorgensen, Michael R. "John Philip Sousa's Operetta El Capitan: A Historical, Analytical, and Performance Guide." Diss., Ball State University, 1995.
• Korzun, Jonathan Nicholas. "The Orchestral Transcriptions for Band of John Philip Sousa: a Description and Analysis." Diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1994.
• Kreitner, Mona Bulpitt. "'A Splendid Group of American Girls': The Women Who Sang with the Sousa Band." Diss., University of Memphis, 2007.
• Norton, Pauline Elizabeth Hosack. "March Music in Nineteenth Century America." Diss., University of Michigan, 1983.
• Stacy, William Barney. "John Philip Sousa and His Band Suites." Diss., University of Colorado, 1973.
• Summers, C. Oland. "The Development of Original Band Scoring from Sousa to Husa." Diss., Ball State University, 1986.
• Warfield, Patrick. ""Salesman of Americanism, Globetrotter and Musician" the Nineteenth-century John Philip Sousa; 1854–1893." Diss., Indiana University, 2003.
• Whisler, John A. "The Songs of John Philip Sousa." Diss., Memphis State University, 1975.
• Wright, Maurice. "The Fifth String: an Opera in One Act." Diss., Columbia University, 1989.

• [https://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/Library-and-Archives/Collections/ John Philip Sousa papers, 1695–1966] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618022750/https://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/Library-and-Archives/Collections/ |date=June 18, 2020 }} at the [https://www.marineband.marines.mil/ United States Marine Band] [https://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/Library-and-Archives/ Library and Archives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622104728/https://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/Library-and-Archives/ |date=June 22, 2020 }} in Washington, D.C.
• [https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu023002 John Philip Sousa Collection], [https://www.loc.gov/collections/john-philip-sousa/about-this-collection/ The March King: John Philip Sousa] digital collection, the [https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu022033 Music of John Philip Sousa and Victor Grabel], and the [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu017015.3 Dodrill – Sousa sheet music collection] at the Library of Congress
• [https://archives.library.illinois.edu/sousa/ The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music.] University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011.

{{Commons category|John Philip Sousa}}

{{Wikisource author|John Philip Sousa}}

• {{Gutenberg author|id=270}}
• {{FadedPage|id=Sousa, John Philip|name=John Philip Sousa|author=yes}}
• {{Librivox author |id=635}}
• {{IMSLP|id=Sousa, John Philip}}
• [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102569 John Philip Sousa recordings] at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.

{{John Philip Sousa}}

{{Hall of Fame for Great Americans}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sousa, John Philip}}

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