Check out the new Youtube video from USAF Max Impact Rock Group, “Send Me!”
Information about the video from Youtube:
Max Impact, the premier rock band of the United States Air Force, is thrilled to release a new video featuring their original song “Send Me.” Produced with the assistance from Air Force Television, the video integrates footage of the amazing Airmen from Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC.)
A collaboration between Senior Master Sgt. Matt Ascione and Master Sgt. Ryan Carson, “Send Me” began as a request for a song from a leader in the Special Tactics community who saw one of the band’s high-energy performances. He wanted to highlight his men’s courage and selfless service, as well as inspire them to new heights.
Drawing inspiration from the “Special Tactics” motto “First there … that others may live,” this exciting original composition tells the story of highly-trained Air Force professionals and the commitment and sacrifices they make each day as they serve.
Along with the other members of Max Impact, the featured vocalist on the song, Carson has deployed overseas on a number of occasions and has seen firsthand the dedication of our nation’s front line warrior Airmen. He explains, “This song was written to honor, encourage and inspire our Special Tactics Airmen. Whether a combat controller, pararescueman, tactical air control party or combat weatherman– these Airmen exemplify the warrior ethos and our core values of integrity, service before self and excellence in all we do.”
Max Impact is one six performing units of The United States Air Force Band, Washington, DC.
Contributed By: Jack Kopstein
Marines’ Hymn- the Official Song of the United States Marines
The “Marines’ Hymn” is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. It is the oldest official song in the United States military. The “Marines’ Hymn” is typically sung at the position of attention as a gesture of respect. However, the third verse is also used as a toast during formal events, such as the birthday ball and other ceremonies.
Some of the lyrics were popular phrases before the song was written. The line “To the shores of Tripoli” refers to the First Barbary War and specifically the Battle of Derne in 1805. After Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon and his Marines hoisted the American flag over the Old World for the first time, the phrase was added to the battle colors of the Corps. “The Halls of Montezuma” refers to the Battle of Chapultepec, during the Mexican-American War, where a force of Marines stormed Chapultepec Castle.
While the lyrics are said to date from the 19th century, no pre-20th century text is known. The author of the lyrics is likewise unknown. Legend has it that it was penned by a Marine on duty in Mexico. The unknown author transposed the phrases in the motto on the Colors so that the first two lines of the Hymn would read: “From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli”, favoring euphony over chronology.
The music is from the Gendarmes’ Duet from an 1867 revision of the 1859 opera. The aria of the Marine Hymn is certainly to be found in the opera, ‘Genevieve de Brabant.’ The melody is not in the exact form of the Marine Hymn, but is undoubtedly the aria from which it was taken. It may, however, be a Spanish folk song.
In discussing the Hymn, John Philip Sousa once wrote: “The melody of the ‘Halls of Montezuma’ is taken from Offenbach’s comic opera, ‘Genevieve de Brabant,’ and is sung by two gendarmes.”
The copyright was vested on 18 August 1919. In 1929, the Commandant of the Marine Corps authorized the three verses of the Marines’ Hymn as the official version.
This older version can be heard in the 1950 film Halls of Montezuma. On 21 November 1942, Commandant Thomas Holcomb approved a change in the words of the first verse’s fourth line from “On the land as on the sea” to “In the air, on land, and sea” to reflect the addition of aviation to the Corp’s arsenal.
Marines’ Hymn
The Marines’ Hymn (1942)
From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli; we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land, and sea; First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean: We are proud to claim the title Of United States Marine. Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze from dawn to setting sun; We have fought in every clime and place Where we could take a gun; In the snow of far-off Northern lands And in sunny tropic scenes; You will find us always on the job The United States Marines. Here’s health to you and to our Corps Which we are proud to serve; In many a strife we’ve fought for life And never lost our nerve; If the Army and the Navy Ever look on Heaven’s scenes; They will find the streets are guarded By The United States Marines.
Bibliography: Marine Corps Lore. Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Department of the Navy. 1963. pp. 17.
“Customs and Traditions: Marines’ Hymn”. History and Museum Division. United States Marine Corp
The Hymn of the United States Marines may be heard on several albums including Music of Marines: United States, Royal, and Merchant
By: Jack Kopstein, World Military Bands
An Album for the Ages
FROM FIFE AND DRUM
Marine Band Recordings 1890-1988 (CD 73 Minutes-17 tracks)
This is an Album for the Ages and celebrates the 190th Anniversary of “The Presidents Own” United States Marine band under the direction of Colonel John R Bourgeois. From Fife and Drum really underscores the genesis of the Marine band as a recording entity. The title represents the lineage of the world renowned band which was founded on July 11th 1798. The band, which is America’s oldest musical organization, performs music on this recording, and has become synonymous with their record of achievement. The historical content is worth the price alone beginning with an introduction by music critic Paul Hume followed by the announcement of John Philip Sousa’s “Washington Post” march. This was a common practice back in 1890 when the march was recorded. The digital processing is absolutely superb, particularly in the first four cuts which include the afore mentioned “Washington Post,” “The Thunderer,” and the “Creanonian Polka,” a cornet solo which is classic band music of the nineteenth century.
The voice interlude following the cornet solo provides an excellent overview of the Marine band and their contribution to the heritage and culture as well as the ceremonial of the United States. There is a virtual array of great band music and transcriptions on the album, such as “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14” by Franz Liszt and Franz Von Suppé’s “Overture Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna.” The turn of the century style is imitated with a cute little ragtime tune called “Crazy Bones,” originally recorded in 1914.
The band performs the “Marines Hymn” on The Dream Hour, an NBC radio programme which featured the band every week in music for “shut-ins.” In the major work on the recording, Colonel John R Bourgeois selected the brilliant work for band by Clare Grundman titled “Concord” in which we hear Revolutionary songs. The National Hymn of America, “God of Our Fathers,” is heard in a magnificent rendition. It is a 19th-century American Christian hymn, written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1876. The final cut on this magnificent album is the march “Washington Post,” which served to bring the Marine band full circle from their earliest recording of 1898 to 1988. The recording technique may have changed over the intervening years from 1898, but the one sustaining factor remains as the absolutely marvelous musicianship of the United States Marine band. The colour enclosure with the CD is highly informative giving an excellent background on the recording. Overall, this is an awesome collection by the United States Marine band that grows more amazing by each track. Anyone with a love of good solid band music would be wise to invest in this disc.
Contributed By: Stacy Flankey
Montrose Community Band of Colorado
Montrose, Colorado has a rich history of municipal bands, dating back nearly 100 years. Herb Probasco organized the Montrose Community Band in 2002 with just 12 members. Today, the band has over 30-40 members per concert and continues to grow. The band features a wide range of musicians from High School students to accomplished artists. The youngest player is 11 years old, and the oldest musician is 82 years young! There are several veterans in the band, Lyle Miller on tuba; Don Macdonald with the percussion section; alto saxophonist Dave Loncar; Dave Reddish playing trumpet; Jim Gibson on Bari Sax; Steve Nelson on Tenor Sax; Kalynn Carlton, who is a member of the 101st Army National Guard Band, on French Horn.
Toby King is the Montrose Community Band director. King started playing the saxophone in 6th grade at Delta Middle School. He played through the ranks of the Delta School District and studied Music Education in college. He received a Bachelor of Music Education and achieved a Masters in Instrumental Conducting. He currently works as a Certified Financial Planner for Raymond James Financial Services.
The band has a special committee that decides what music will be played for each concert. There is also a Band Member of the Quarter that is awarded each concert, and that person gets to choose a piece to be played in the following concert as part of the reward. The band likes to play a variety of music. The 4th of July concert is patriotic and filled with marches and an annual salute to veterans. The Christmas concert has classics and a few new songs to keep everyone excited for the holidays. The spring and fall concerts vary and usually have a theme-based lineup. The committee tries to honor the soldiers and veterans throughout the year and remember important dates surrounding them and the battles fought by picking pieces based on or dedicated to these events. The next concert will be on April 15th, at 3 pm and included swing music and other songs from the big band era titled “Spring Swing.”
Along with the four main concerts each year, the band will participate in the Telluride’s 4th of July parade, and at Deltarado Days Fair and Rodeo in Delta, CO. The band has also traveled to Ouray and Lake City to play with the Lake City Stingers. Montrose Community Band also performs for nursing homes and assisted living centers, and in the Christmas parade. Some members of the band also went “caroling” at businesses around the holidays. The Saxophone Ensemble performs after intermission at regular concerts, and is often called on for special events. The band offers younger musicians the chance to earn some community service credits while gaining more experience playing with the Montrose Community Band.
This year marks the 10-year anniversary for the band. The first concert was played in December 2002 for Christmas. Founder Herb Probasco passed away last fall, and is greatly missed by the band members and community. Tina Woodrum added, “We are a group that really loves playing their instruments and we welcome all ages and skill levels.” All concerts are free and open to the public.
Thank you, Tina Woodrum for taking the time to gather the information for us!
You can view the band’s YouTube video here.
View the Montrose Community Band Website
Contributed by Jack Kopstein
James Reese Europe was a well-known international jazz band musician and band leader. He joined the army during World War II and obtained a Commission in the New York Army National Guard, where he saw combat as a lieutenant with the 369th Infantry Regiment (the “Harlem Hellfighters”). He went on to direct the regimental band to great acclaim. In February and March of 1918, James Reese Europe and his military band travelled over 2,000 miles in France, performing for British, French, and American military audiences, as well as French civilians. Europe’s “Hellfighters” made their first recordings in France for the Pathé brothers. The first concert included a French march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” as well as syncopated numbers such as “The Memphis Blues,” which, according to a later description of the concert by a band member, “…started ragtimitis in France.”
After his return home in February 1919 he stated, “I have come from France more firmly convinced than ever that Negros should write Negro music. We have our own racial feeling and if we try to copy whites we will make bad copies…We won France by playing music which was ours and not a pale imitation of others, and if we are to develop in America, we must develop along our own lines.” In 1919, James Reese Europe made more recordings for Pathé Records, including both instrumentals and accompaniments with vocalist Noble Sissle. Noble Sissle with Eubie Blake, would later have great success with their 1921 production of Shuffle Along, which gives us the classic song “I’m Just Wild About Harry.” Differing in style from Europe’s recordings of a few years earlier, they incorporate blues, blue notes, and early jazz influences including a rather stiff cover record of the Original Dixieland Jass(sic) Band’s “Clarinet Marmalade.”
On the night of May 9, 1919 Europe performed for the last time. He had been feeling extremely ill all day, but wanted to continue on with the concert, which was to be the first of three in Boston’s Mechanics Hall. During the intermission Europe went to have a talk with two of his drummers, Steve and Herbert Wright. After criticizing some of their behavior, which included walking off stage during others’ performances, Herbert became very agitated and threw his drumsticks down in a seemingly unwarranted outburst of anger. He claimed Europe didn’t treat him well and that he was tired of getting blamed for others’ mistakes. He lunged for Europe with a pen knife and was able to successfully stab Europe in the neck. Europe told his band to finish the set and he would see them the next morning. It would be the last time they saw him alive.
News of Europe’s death spread fast to a stunned public. W.C. Handy wrote, “The man who had just come through the baptism of war’s fire and steel without a mark had been stabbed by one of his own musicians…The sun was in the sky. The new day promised peace. But all the suns had gone down for Jim Europe, and Harlem didn’t seem the same.” Europe was granted the first ever public funeral for an African American in the city of New York. Tanney Johnson said of his death, “Before Jim Europe came to New York, the colored man knew nothing but Negro dances and porter’s work. All that has been changed. Jim Europe was the living open sesame to the colored porters of this city. He took them from their porter’s places and raised them to positions of importance as real musicians. I think the suffering public ought to know that in Jim Europe, the race has lost a leader, a benefactor, and a true friend.”
At the time of his death he was the best-known African American bandleader in the United States. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Watch the YouTube video to learn more about James Reese Europe and the Famous “Hellfighters” Band
Adapted from Wikipedia
Contributed by Jack Kopstein
Yankee Stadium officially opened on Wednesday, April 18, 1923, with the Yankees’ first home game. According to the New York Evening Telegram, “everything smelled of … fresh paint, fresh plaster and fresh grass.” At 3 p.m., the composer/conductor John Philip Sousa led the Seventh (“Silk-Stocking”) Regiment Band in playing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” After a parade of the players and dignitaries, Babe Ruth was presented with a case containing a symbolically big bat. New York Governor, Al Smith (who would become the Democratic Party’s candidate for president in 1928), then threw out the first pitch directly into the glove of catcher Wally Schang. The Yankees went on to defeat Ruth’s former team, the Boston Red Sox, by a score of 4–1, with Ruth hitting a three-run home run into the right-field stands. He was later asked for his opinion of the stadium, he replied, “Some ball yard.”
Upon opening, Fred Lieb of the New York Evening Telegram dubbed it “The House That Ruth Built.” The Yankees also won their first World Series during the Stadium’s inaugural season. Future Yankee manager, Casey Stengel, hit the first post-season homerun in stadium history while playing with the opposing New York Giants. The only other teams to win the World Series in the inaugural year of their field were the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the 1909 World Series in Forbes Field’s inaugural season; and Boston Red Sox, who won the 1912 World Series in Fenway Park’s first year; and in 2006 the St. Louis Cardinals in (the new) Busch Stadium. The Yankees accomplished this feat yet again in the New Yankee Stadium during the 2009 World Series.
Sousa was an inveterate baseball fan and wrote the march “The National Game” dedicated to baseball.
You can find “The National Game” on three Altissimo albums. Including:
Sousa 3
Songs of America