Tag Archives: John Philip Sousa (1854)

today’s birthday: John Philip Sousa (1854)


John Philip Sousa (1854)

Known as “The March King,” Sousa was an American bandmaster who composed more than 130 military marches, including “The Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Semper Fidelis”—the official march of the US Marines. In 1868, when Sousa was 13, his father enlisted him in the Marine Corps as an apprentice in the Marine Band, which he later led from 1880 until 1892, at which point he formed his own band and toured to great acclaim. In the 1890s, Sousa developed a type of bass tuba now known as what? More… Discuss