| Marching Southerners | |
|---|---|
 | |
| School | Jacksonville State University |
| Location | Jacksonville, Alabama |
| Conference | C-USA |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Director | Dr. Kenneth G. Bodiford |
| Assistant Directors | Mr. Clint Gillespie and Dr. Jeremy Stovall |
| Members | 556 (2019) |
| Website | http://www.marchingsoutherners.org/ |
The Marching Southerners is the marching band of Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Composed of students from all over the country, the Southerners and Marching Ballerinas perform for thousands each season. [1]
The first band at Jacksonville State Normal School was formed in 1923–24. [2] At that time, students only attended the school for two years and there was no full-time director, which hindered growth of the band in the early years. In 1930, the college was renamed Jacksonville State Teachers College, reflecting an increased role in higher education for the institution. [3] The Great Depression and World War II put development of the band on hold.
After the war, Walter A. Mason became head of the music department at the college. A veteran, he turned to fellow Army musician J. Eugene Duncan who he asked to become the band's first full-time director in 1948. [4]
The Marching Southerners were the 2021 recipients of the Sudler Trophy, the highest award for collegiate marching band. [5]
John T. Finley took over the director position in 1951 [6] and immediately made changes to the band's musical and visual style. Finley removed the sousaphones, cornets and small-bore trombones, and replaced them with trumpets and bass trombones: instruments more usually associated with orchestras. The most radical instrumental change was the adoption of the C.G. Conn 20-J upright recording bass as the band's lead tuba, and Jacksonville State remains the only university marching band to use this heavy concert tuba on the field. [7] Other musical changes included a departure from military-style marches in favor of slower, more dynamic, orchestral and symphonic, Broadway and Latin jazz pieces.
Visually, the band abandoned military-style block drill in favor of precision marching and wide-open company front formations: designed to achieve uniformity in step height and body carriage, whilst the company front formation helped to project the sound of the band. Finley also adopted a dance line as a visual focus instead of the majorette lines seen in more traditional marching bands, christening them the Marching Ballerinas in 1956.
Primary music arrangers for the Southerners include David L. Walters (1960s-early 1990s), Mark Fifer (1995-2004), and Justin Williams (2005–present), as well as percussion program head Clint Gillespie (1998–present).
In 1956 the band began attracting more attention and received its name, the "Southerners", in 1958.
Incidentally, Norman L. Padgett is credited with naming the band. The band's charter president, Harold Summerville, class of '60, of Bowden, Ga., recalls, "On April 21, 1958, I presented a letter of appreciation to Norman L. Padgett. It was signed by Dr. Finley and [me] at the beginning of band rehearsal that day thanking [Mr. Padgett] for his submission of the name The Southerners." [8]
Despite the commonly used name ("The Marching Southerners"), according to the JSU Manual of Style and Usage, Point 7, the official name of the band at Jacksonville State is simply "The Southerners": the "Marching" title only being applied to the Marching Ballerinas.
1965 – Inaugural parade for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson [14]
1976 – National Bicentennial Celebration Parade in Philadelphia, PA [15]
1996 – 70th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. A segment of the Southerners' performance can be seen in the opening scene of Episode 9.08 of Friends ("The One with Rachel's Other Sister"), which originally aired on Nov. 21, 2002. [16]
1998 – First performance at the Atlanta Bands of America Regional at the Georgia Dome [17]
1999 – B.O.A. Grand Nationals at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis [18]
2002 – B.O.A. Grand Nationals at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis [19]
2006 – The Marching Southerners celebrated their 50th anniversary with a performance that included 1,500 former Southerners alumni, during halftime of Jacksonville State University's college football game against Samford University.
2012 – The Southerners led the New Year's Day Parade in London, England, which also kicked off the 2012 Summer Olympics celebrations and Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. [20]
2016 – The Southerners played on the U.S.S Missouri in honor of the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. [21]
Additionally, the Southerners perform regularly at the Bands of America contest in Atlanta, and they host a Bands of America contest in Jacksonville, Alabama.
There are no organized competitions for college marching bands in the Southeast, so the Marching Southerners do not engage in direct competition with other college bands. However, Jacksonville State University sponsors several competitive marching and pageantry units that draw their membership in whole, or in part, from the marching band:
Jackson State University is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of student enrollment. The university is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Jacksonville State University is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degrees in addition to certificate programs and continuing education opportunities.
Alabama State University is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
"Stars Fell on Alabama" is a 1934 jazz standard composed by Frank Perkins with lyrics by Mitchell Parish.
The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band, known as "The Pride", is the student marching band for the University of Oklahoma Sooners.
The Auburn University Marching Band (AUMB) is the marching band of Auburn University and the 2004 recipient of the Sudler Intercollegiate Marching Band Trophy. With 380 members, the band traces its origins to 1897 when M. Thomas Fullan proposed to then-president Dr. William Broun that the drum corps accompanying cadet drills be replaced with a full instrumental band.
The Marching Jayhawks, is a 380-piece marching band consisting of woodwinds, brass, percussion, and color guard, representing the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The band performs at all home football games and occasionally travels to away games. They also send smaller ensembles to pep rallies around the Kansas City area. The band marches in parades on campus and in downtown Lawrence. The volleyball and basketball pep bands play at all home games and will often travel for post-season play.
WLJS-FM is the student-run non-commercial educational college radio station of Jacksonville State University. The station was established for the purpose of giving students an environment in which they could learn to be radio broadcasters. WLJS is maintained by the JSU Department of Communication, which is also the parent organization of the campus newspaper, The Chanticleer, and the Mimosa yearbook. WLJS is located in Self Hall, home to JSU's Department of Communication.
The Million Dollar Band is the official marching band of the University of Alabama. Founded in 1912, the Million Dollar Band is the largest student organization at the University of Alabama. The band performs during pregame and halftime of every home and neutral-site Alabama football game; it also supplies at least a pep band to every away football game, as well as home men's basketball, women's basketball, women's gymnastics, and volleyball games. In 2003, the band was awarded the Sudler Trophy, recognizing it as one of the top college bands in the United States.
The Georgia Redcoat Marching Band, commonly referred to as "The Redcoats", is the official marching band of the University of Georgia.
The West Chester University "Incomparable" Golden Rams Marching Band (IGRMB) is the marching band for West Chester University, a public university in West Chester, Pennsylvania and is part of the university's Wells School Of Music.
Rick Pietri is an American college basketball coach and the current women's head coach at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. The Jacksonville State Gamecocks are members of NCAA Division I and, as of the upcoming 2023–24 basketball season, compete in Conference USA (C-USA). The former head coach at the University of South Alabama was named as JSU's new coach on June 25, 2013.
The Mountaineer Marching Band, known as The Pride of West Virginia, is the marching band of West Virginia University located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The band was awarded the prestigious Sudler Trophy by the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 1997.
The Sonic Boom of the South is the marching band of Jackson State University (JSU) located in Jackson, Mississippi, US.
Gadsden State Community College is a public community college with campuses in Gadsden, Centre and Anniston, Alabama. The college was founded as a merger between Alabama Technical College (1925), Gadsden State Technical Institute (1960) and Gadsden State Junior College (1965). Gadsden State is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. It offers associate degree, certificate and non-credit courses thorough more than 70 programs. The college's campuses serve Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah and St. Clair counties, as well as neighboring counties in Georgia.
The Jackson State Tigers football team represents Jackson State University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
Ray Wedgeworth was an American college football, baseball and basketball head coach. He served in all three capacities at Jacksonville State University.
Chester C. Dillon was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Dakota Wesleyan University (1915–1916), Simpson College (1916–1917), Howard College in Homewood, Alabama—now known as Samford University, Oshkosh State Normal School—now known as the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (1920), Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky (1929–1930), and Jacksonville State Teachers College—now known as Jacksonville State University. Dillon was born on January 14, 1887, in Normal, Illinois. He died on October 11, 1972.
Donald J. Salls was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Jacksonville State University from 1946 to 1952 and from 1954 to 1964. He was a World War II veteran and a Purple Heart recipient. He died in January 2021 at the age of 101.