Addressing a big rumor ive heard years ago about Southern Band


SIR_GRAM

Legend
I sure hope yall don't take this and run with it, and or clown on this because I'm really "Serious" and I wanted to see if this was or wasn't true. I'm not trying to be like that with this, I'm really serious, and trying to address this.

The rumor I was told years ago, was that Southern University Marching band got its beginnings and, somewhat tad bit of style from the University of Michigan?
 
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Image result for university of michigan band marching


Image result for university of michigan band marching


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Image result for university of michigan drum major
 
At the end of the day, I knew it would be 1.... Most of these PWU's, if maybe not all... I may be wrong, are older band programs than HBCU's. And this was just a rumor ive heard. I don't know why someone would say this, but the person that did was a pretty decent seasoned older "band person" at the time. I just took it with a grain of salt.... But who am I to want to ask this right? Maybe too much of a stupid question to ask in The Band Board....
 
See I got to go ahead and clown :cool: and put these receipts on here.. Because I knew it would "Take 1"...
So uh....Untitled12.png
 
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Ludwig Freeman went to U of Michigan so yeah there was some influence there. The same can be said for plenty of other HBCU bands as well. Another former director of ours before Freeman named T. Leroy Davis (who also was head band director at Alcorn) marched for SU and then marched for University of Southern Cal in Grad school but I don't think he brought any influences from there to SU.
 
Greggs went to Michigan State. Butler went to TnSU and then UofMichigan. According to my grand pops southern always had something LIKE Big Ten since the 50s. Ocean of Soul began with Ben Butler. This was during Jim Crow so the way things were "done" also had to do with where you COULD attend. Now the arguments people throw out about "original drills" is where they should stop. Patterns in Motion is ALL the kaleidoscopic drills. All of it. And that is Michigan State and UofMichigan.. Bill Moffitt who ended his career at UofH. So yes there is influence and then no, SOME of black hbcu pageantry IS a black thing but also... NO su didn't get "copied" by everyone.
 
Greggs went to Michigan State. Butler went to TnSU and then UofMichigan. According to my grand pops southern always had something LIKE Big Ten since the 50s. Ocean of Soul began with Ben Butler. This was during Jim Crow so the way things were "done" also had to do with where you COULD attend. Now the arguments people throw out about "original drills" is where they should stop. Patterns in Motion is ALL the kaleidoscopic drills. All of it. And that is Michigan State and UofMichigan.. Bill Moffitt who ended his career at UofH. So yes there is influence and then no, SOME of black hbcu pageantry IS a black thing but also... NO su didn't get "copied" by everyone.

Dr. Greggs did NOT go to Michigan St.

And of course “everybody” doesn’t copy SU but plenty do.
 
All marching bands are based on a military style created by John Philip Sousa, which is why bands still play march music such as National Emblem and Trombone King. I'm sure there are some HBCUs that don't play any Sousa's march music. Being so close to New Orleans, SU has added to its list New Orleans brass band music, which are also a form of march music with a jazzy flavor. Dr. Greggs incorporated a lot of brass band music when he first got to SU in 1969, which was the same year SU did the Superbowl in New Orleans.
 
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Some swac bands were
All marching bands are based on a military style created by John Philip Sousa, which is why bands still play march music such as National Emblem and Trombone King. I'm sure there are some HBCUs that don't play any Sousa's march music. Being so close to New Orleans, SU has added to its list New Orleans brass band music, which are also a form of march music with a jazzy flavor. Dr. Greggs incorporated a lot of brass band music when he first got to SU in 1969, which was the same year SU did the Superbowl in New Orleans.

Yep - several swac bands were strictly military style until some presidents saw fit to change once bands began to get praised for entertaining

listen to this

 
Some swac bands were


Yep - several swac bands were strictly military style until some presidents saw fit to change once bands began to get praised for entertaining

listen to this


I'm sure TxSU's President didn't have a choice after seeing a band with this much soul. They practiced long hours to do the bump right.

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View: https://media.giphy.com/media/cl8gc8IP9tW1FfJEZR/giphy.gif


View: https://media.giphy.com/media/fscDRsCxBsjSSLutN0/giphy.gif
 
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Well I heard wrong. Seems it was Vander Cook.

him and Butler went to band camps for Directors at Michigan State. They roomed together and that’s how they became boys and both are Alpha’s
 
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