Mighty Sound of the South

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The Mighty Sound of the South is the marching band that represents and performs for the University of Memphis in Memphis, TN. There are 185 members as of the 2024 season.

Contents

The band plays at Memphis Tigers football games as a marching band and at Tigers basketball games as a pep band.

History

At the end of the 1962-1963 basketball season, the Memphis State University basketball team had the distinction of being the only southern team invited to play in the National Invitational Tournament in Madison Square Garden. Thomas C. Ferguson, in only his second year as band director, decided the school's pep band should go to New York City to support these games. A pep band had never before played for a basketball game in the Garden, but they were to become the first.

Nineteen pep band members boarded a bus for New York City and using markers and an old bed sheet, they fashioned a makeshift sign with the words "The Mighty Sound of the South" and the name is still used for members of the current University of Memphis marching band.

Previous-thru-current directors / assistant directors of The Mighty Sound of The South:

Year StartedYear EndedName
19401950Lawrence "Pat" Cooney
19501952Gaston Taylor
19531956Ralph Hale
19571959Olin Blickensderfer
19621974Dr. Tom Ferguson
19681970James Richens
19721986Art Theil
19752002Dr. Sidney McKay
19871998Dr. James "Marty" Courtney
19991999Geoff Carlton
20002011Dr. Nicholas Holland
20022011Dr. Kraig Williams
2008currentDr. Albert Nguyen
20112012Dr. Quintus F. Wrighten, Jr.
20112016Dan Kalantarian
20122014Dr. Armand V. Hall
20142016Dan Kalantarian
2017currentDr. William J. Plenk


The Mighty Sound of the South is officially charged with preserving the traditions of the Memphis Tigers and for performing “Go! Tigers! Go!” the University of Memphis Tigers’ fight song. [1] The fight song was written by Tom Ferguson, former Director of Bands at Memphis State University during the 1960-1970s.

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References

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLKs3V2XL6Q Go! Tigers! Go! Lyrics and Performance