Elvis + Lenny = John Philip Sousa?

Posted at 5:00 AM on August 19, 2008 by John Birge (2 Comments)

A nice tribute to The March King from the Wall Street Journal's Terry Teachout. Here's Sousa's foolproof recipe for a march:

"It must be as free from padding as a marble statue. Every line must be carved with unerring skill." Once the musical fat is trimmed away, he explained, a good march "stimulates every center of vitality, wakens the imagination and spurs patriotic impulses which may have been dormant for years."

Read the whole thing here.

And if you've never seen the Muppets version, talk about stimulating "every center of vitality"!!

Then, of course, there's Cameron Carpenter's astonishing one man band. No piccolos, but keep your eyes on the feet:

Comments (2)

Thank you for drawing together the Sousa article, and disparite images. An enjoyable music history moment.

Posted by Joanna Cortright | August 19, 2008 8:25 AM

Bravo! What different ways to show the love of Sousa and our country.

Posted by Nancy | August 20, 2008 8:34 AM