And if you liked the mellophone solos, the first was played by John Berke and the second by Bonnie Ott. The soprano screamer at the end was Jim McFarland.
I love this song and still remember everyone trying to incorporate elements of this show into their own. I like the old school style of the BD better than today's style and that may be just because I am from the earlier era. I think the modern style just takes too much from the instrumentalists. I love the deep brass and the new amplification and organ take away from that deep natural sound. Have to wow the crowd as well as the judges.
As a person from a newer generation, I have to agree with you on the sound effects! The carolina crown show’s sound effects were too loud and took away from the impact of the brass!
August 1976 Drum Major Camp in Reading PA just days before DCI finals in Philli. The Corps came though as part of the camp, and I had NO CLUE what to expect. The first note from a Drum Corp I had ever heard. Semicircle formation, Blue Devils in practice. F-tuning followed by this magnificent show start to finish. From the very first note, my hair went STRAIGHT BACK, and I was forever hooked. BD will always have a place in my heart, as will the late George N. Parks who started all of this in me!
Every time in the dark, cold days of Winter when I need my drum corps fix I come to this performance, a beaming light that opens from the heavens. And when that light returns again in the Spring this clip is like me strapping on my running shoes at the start of the drum corps marathon race to the August championships. UPDATE: Here I sit listening once again on one of the longest nights before the Winter Solstice 2023. It is drum corps that keeps me sane in the darkeness and depths of late Autumn.
Well said, L legend was in the making. Knew it well from recordings And I as well have the time in my life hearing it ‘99! I was loving it just as much as he did. Nothing like hearing that kind of brass and percussion live! Unfortunately, I never play like that in the future. Unless your senior corps actors still want to play in G. he may not have anything to do with key, however, two completely different sounds. One not might not be called perfect, that’s why I like the sound of old school drum corps!!! He, The drum major, had the best hearing of the power of that right there on the front side!
Without question, this is my favorite concert section of any year of DCI since 1970. The arrangement absolutely kicked ass, and IMHO was an improvement over the original composition. How can anyone NOT love this piece?
This is the true Spirit of Drum Corps.....What a sound!!! This is not the crap currently peddled by DCI!!! I'm at a loss as to why nobody has ever tried to form a new alternative to DCI and bring back this art. I'll be the first to donate to it!!
I agree! Someone should start a circuit replicating what the old-school corps were doing with the old style bugles and drums and on a shoestring budget. Go from town to town, sleep on gym floors, travel in caravans, eat potluck provided by the communities where the corps stop and entertain. Charge just enough to generate enough spending money to get to the next destination and make it free for any kid who wants to be a part of it. Let it grow up from there. Also, don't have a maximum age restriction. The only requirement will be that someone has to have the passion and drive and the summer free of other obligations.
1976 was my first year in DCI with the St. Paul Mounties (Stillwater Mounties/Rivermen). Watching the Blue Devils performance from that year still gives me tingles. Thanks for posting this great performance.
This video brings back special memories. In 1977, I was the drum major of my high school marching band and we performed "Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor" for our concert feature. I directed the band in much the same style and swag as the Blue Devils' drum major, Dave Dugan. The audience loved it as well as the judges as competitions. In the 1970s, the drum majors were expected to perform with lots of energy and passion.
i was 13 yrs old in my first yr in band when i happen to turn to PBS and saw this live...i was hooked in music from there.This is what DCI should be...hard driving...hard sounding music that you can feel.
6/23/23. I have a audio tape of this performance made in Stillwater, Minnesota. The weather had very low hanging clouds. The audio is fabulous in that tape!
This song will never get old to me. I tried out at my High school for Drum major to this song, (didn't get down to this song as MUCH as this guy) but I tried hahaha. I also got it by the way. And I still think this song, when I first heard it my 9th grade year, was the reason I want to be a band director so badly.
Paulette, I'm pleased to hear a compliment from a former competitor, and stress that this doesn't happen very often. I wish this was more prevalent within this activity, as there have been many things that tug at my drum corps heart. Seeing you are from Boston, one of those things was "Once more in '94". It wasn't just Danny Boy either, but the whole show. Takes me right back to 'our' time. There are a great many others, from Blue Rock to Kingsmen, and a great many more. Thanks.
@funkywhite I marched/played mallets for BD '80-'82. 1980 was the first year that grounded timpani were allowed. 1982 was the first year for the Pit with grounded mallet instruments, so I both marched (1980, 1981) and played in the pit (1982). BTW, I loved Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor. Before I made it to the Blue Devils, I played in a small drum and bell corps that did our own rendition of Legend.
@HomicidalTh0r Dave Dugan was the charter DM for BD...71-76...so the corps had a lot of time to get used to and feed off of him. One early alum said of him "if anyone could keep us together, Dave could." A DM being distracting only happens if you let it...his emotion can feed that of the corps...and Dugan did a great job of it here (conducting pattern's backwards, but that might've been a typical technique in the mid 70s.)
@BDTrooper76 I actually played Mellophone in the 27th Lancers "Once More in 94" show..how ironic you would bring that up! I loved Blue Devils that year and also in 1980.. I marched in North Star in 1980 but I had such a respect for BD....
best DCI video online right now. Why? It is short (matches our attention span), It is up beat (no boring ballad), it is in tune, the drum line is kicking, it is live in front of a crowd that loves it, and the whole unit seems to really be working together to compliment each other versus just look at me.
This one has *always* fascinated me --- the Mangione original is quiet, almost wistful (and I've seen CM & co. do it in-person), and then comes *this* rendition . . . it's just *lethal*, almost homicidally intense. The only "improvement" ever made on it was the "smearing" of a few notes of the mello solo about five bars from the end (of the solo), in the '78 performance. Overall, this is "the one", however --- " I know it's only drum-corps . . ., but I LIKE it! :-D" (like it, like it, yes I do).
Bugles back then had one rotar and one valve. It's the equivalent of a mellophone today. Bugles went from no valves -> one rotar and one valve -> two valves -> 3 valves today.
A couple of things that made it from here into later BD years....the "darrlls-bar" drum lick at the end, and I'm guessing the arms up and #1 finger from the last soloist is the gesture that was kept through 1987. I know we did it at the end of the show in 84 (right hand was a fist at prelims...#1 finger was saved for Finals)
waah waah waah BUT we need three valves,WAAH WAAH and they have to be keyed like band instrumentsTO SO IT WILL BE EASIER FOR KIDS TO TRANSITION and we NEED amplification, WAAH WAAH . LOOK ,LISTEN, AND L-E-A-R-N children NONE of it is necessary. WATCH these old videos ,LISTEN to the music that was accomplished ,AND the SOUND. WATCH MADISON '75 MACARTHUR PARK CONCERT. see where they were on the field? WAY BACK in the middle.AND no national recruiting,they took who came + made these.
1975 and 1976 were such surprising years. No one understood how good anyone was,,every corp surprised itself. WE competed to beat ourselves, and we had individual themes. Good times....good challenges.
This was our signature song for that era. BD 76 was quite a year. First Championship, swept all captions at finals, 10 snares, North tenors, and believe it or not, even using the color white for the drums was different - chrome was "the" color of the day. The crowd's response was incredible from the field.
I remember the 32 count roll with the snares with the exclamation "Balls" for the warm up on the field before every show. You were also an amazing instructor!!!!
The mellophone soloist is incredible, starting at 1:45 and wailing at 2:10. I think it's a girl, isn't it? Any bio on this musician? Just so passionate, so elegant, so mad with intensity. Just a soaring performance.
+Channel Three Bonnie was actually playing with the Jim Ott Brass Ensemble at DCI SoundSport finals in Indianapolis last year. They played this tune and it was just as flawless there as it is in the video. It was amazing to see her play it live.
Yes Bonnie Ott. She was an instructor in 1980 with the Capitolaires, all girl corps out of Madison. I saw her walking by in a powder blue corps jacket and she was insanely pretty.......at least to a drum corps newbie like me.
@BDTrooper76 OMG BD you just made me cry.... I didnt appreciate BD until i bought the "albums" and laid back and listened to exactly why they got the praise they deserved...we were never competitors...we were part of something that anyone out of drum corps could never understand....we are part of something special...i still have the same friends I had 30 years ago... I love this activity...and I could never give back what this activity gave to me...so BD xoxoxoxo and many more!
Just so bad ass! ❤️ My brother marched baritone in this show. I watched it many times in rehearsal and in performance. These were the early years of Blue Devils really hitting their stride. So proud of them and their longevity! ❤️BD💙💙💙💙💙
One of my old time favorites of the Blue Devils. That female mellow phone player, Bonnie Ott, sure has a set of chops on her. I wonder where she is today !!!
Valve and rotary bugles.....this is how we played the game!!!! for all you young'ns out there, this part of the show was called the "concert" ( it's why theyre not moving) that which usually followed after a drum solo and the 'Off the Line" more commonly known as the "opener" these days
R.I.P Dave Dugan. You made history.
which performer was he?
@@CSRookie The iconic Drum Major
It's been since '76 that I last saw the Blue Devils Drum Major in person. I fell in love with his style.
And if you liked the mellophone solos, the first was played by John Berke and the second by Bonnie Ott. The soprano screamer at the end was Jim McFarland.
That's Jim Otts sister playing the last mellophone solo! Ahhhhh, the good 'ol days!
Yes, Bonnie Ott
The amazing Bonnie Ott
RIP, Drum Major Dave Dugan...had a massive stroke and passed away today, 5/23/20.
I love this song and still remember everyone trying to incorporate elements of this show into their own. I like the old school style of the BD better than today's style and that may be just because I am from the earlier era. I think the modern style just takes too much from the instrumentalists. I love the deep brass and the new amplification and organ take away from that deep natural sound. Have to wow the crowd as well as the judges.
As a person from a newer generation, I have to agree with you on the sound effects! The carolina crown show’s sound effects were too loud and took away from the impact of the brass!
I totally agree, the old style was original and authentic.
August 1976 Drum Major Camp in Reading PA just days before DCI finals in Philli. The Corps came though as part of the camp, and I had NO CLUE what to expect. The first note from a Drum Corp I had ever heard. Semicircle formation, Blue Devils in practice. F-tuning followed by this magnificent show start to finish. From the very first note, my hair went STRAIGHT BACK, and I was forever hooked. BD will always have a place in my heart, as will the late George N. Parks who started all of this in me!
Every time in the dark, cold days of Winter when I need my drum corps fix I come to this performance, a beaming light that opens from the heavens.
And when that light returns again in the Spring this clip is like me strapping on my running shoes at the start of the drum corps marathon race to the August championships.
UPDATE: Here I sit listening once again on one of the longest nights before the Winter Solstice 2023. It is drum corps that keeps me sane in the darkeness and depths of late Autumn.
Well said, L legend was in the making. Knew it well from recordings And I as well have the time in my life hearing it ‘99! I was loving it just as much as he did. Nothing like hearing that kind of brass and percussion live! Unfortunately, I never play like that in the future. Unless your senior corps actors still want to play in G. he may not have anything to do with key, however, two completely different sounds. One not might not be called perfect, that’s why I like the sound of old school drum corps!!! He, The drum major, had the best hearing of the power of that right there on the front side!
@@stephenpulver9720again 2023 finals did not disappoint, but the Devils can blow some air through these G bugles-nothing like it.
One of my favorites....Both of my sisters marched that year and some of my Kingsmen brother and sisters! Loved their show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Without question, this is my favorite concert section of any year of DCI since 1970. The arrangement absolutely kicked ass, and IMHO was an improvement over the original composition. How can anyone NOT love this piece?
This is the true Spirit of Drum Corps.....What a sound!!! This is not the crap currently peddled by DCI!!! I'm at a loss as to why nobody has ever tried to form a new alternative to DCI and bring back this art. I'll be the first to donate to it!!
What an adventure that would be.
I agree! Someone should start a circuit replicating what the old-school corps were doing with the old style bugles and drums and on a shoestring budget. Go from town to town, sleep on gym floors, travel in caravans, eat potluck provided by the communities where the corps stop and entertain. Charge just enough to generate enough spending money to get to the next destination and make it free for any kid who wants to be a part of it. Let it grow up from there. Also, don't have a maximum age restriction. The only requirement will be that someone has to have the passion and drive and the summer free of other obligations.
45 years later this is still fantastic
Over 40 years ago, and my favorite DCI presentation to date. You can't not feel this. And the rifles so clean at the end!
1976 was my first year in DCI with the St. Paul Mounties (Stillwater Mounties/Rivermen). Watching the Blue Devils performance from that year still gives me tingles. Thanks for posting this great performance.
That must've been loud as hell live
you can bet this unharnessed wall of sound of brass & percussion will do things to your body --- & it feels SO GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh it was!😁
It was loud 👍
It was rock concert loud.
This video brings back special memories. In 1977, I was the drum major of my high school marching band and we performed "Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor" for our concert feature. I directed the band in much the same style and swag as the Blue Devils' drum major, Dave Dugan. The audience loved it as well as the judges as competitions. In the 1970s, the drum majors were expected to perform with lots of energy and passion.
i was 13 yrs old in my first yr in band when i happen to turn to PBS and saw this live...i was hooked in music from there.This is what DCI should be...hard driving...hard sounding music that you can feel.
Quite simply The Perfect Show!!!! The best example of what a Drum & Bugle Corps was…. and should be!
6/23/23. I have a audio tape of this performance made in Stillwater, Minnesota. The weather had very low hanging clouds. The audio is fabulous in that tape!
Dave Dugan passed recently, may he Rest In Peace. This was such a great show.
This song will never get old to me. I tried out at my High school for Drum major to this song, (didn't get down to this song as MUCH as this guy) but I tried hahaha. I also got it by the way. And I still think this song, when I first heard it my 9th grade year, was the reason I want to be a band director so badly.
One of my favorite BD performances...
Paulette,
I'm pleased to hear a compliment from a former competitor, and stress that this doesn't happen very often. I wish this was more prevalent within this activity, as there have been many things that tug at my drum corps heart. Seeing you are from Boston, one of those things was "Once more in '94". It wasn't just Danny Boy either, but the whole show. Takes me right back to 'our' time. There are a great many others, from Blue Rock to Kingsmen, and a great many more.
Thanks.
@funkywhite
I marched/played mallets for BD '80-'82. 1980 was the first year that grounded timpani were allowed. 1982 was the first year for the Pit with grounded mallet instruments, so I both marched (1980, 1981) and played in the pit (1982).
BTW, I loved Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor. Before I made it to the Blue Devils, I played in a small drum and bell corps that did our own rendition of Legend.
RIP david dugan
I marched with the Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights from 1970-1972 and drum Corp during this period was the best ever.
The one that could really blow your socks off in that era was Spirit of Atlanta. Wow!! But, they all could significantly blow your face out of shape.
Thumbs up for funky drum majors.
@HomicidalTh0r Dave Dugan was the charter DM for BD...71-76...so the corps had a lot of time to get used to and feed off of him. One early alum said of him "if anyone could keep us together, Dave could."
A DM being distracting only happens if you let it...his emotion can feed that of the corps...and Dugan did a great job of it here (conducting pattern's backwards, but that might've been a typical technique in the mid 70s.)
I love the North tenors.
Ah, the ol'days . . .
The conductor makes my life.
The age of the park and bark - love it!
I luv how the passionate the dude playing the tamborine gets into this !!!
Awesome piece with Spanish Twang, aye Caramba!!!
Squat and Blow tune. I loved performing this song back in the day.
@BDTrooper76 I actually played Mellophone in the 27th Lancers "Once More in 94" show..how ironic you would bring that up! I loved Blue Devils that year and also in 1980.. I marched in North Star in 1980 but I had such a respect for BD....
best DCI video online right now. Why? It is short (matches our attention span), It is up beat (no boring ballad), it is in tune, the drum line is kicking, it is live in front of a crowd that loves it, and the whole unit seems to really be working together to compliment each other versus just look at me.
This is probably my favorite corps song and performance.
feeling them rotary valve horns!
We used this tune for the Olympic view middle school marching band and we won three parades with it!
This one has *always* fascinated me --- the Mangione original is quiet, almost wistful (and I've seen CM & co. do it in-person), and then comes *this* rendition . . . it's just *lethal*, almost homicidally intense. The only "improvement" ever made on it was the "smearing" of a few notes of the mello solo about five bars from the end (of the solo), in the '78 performance. Overall, this is "the one", however --- " I know it's only drum-corps . . ., but I LIKE it! :-D" (like it, like it, yes I do).
I, for one, am glad tenors evolved the way they did.
i like how at the end, rather than find and focus on the trumpet soloist, the camera guy watches the drum major keep his hat from falling off
Love the Drum Majors hip action.
The field commander might as well be a part of the color gaurd he's dancing so much up there. xD Great show though.
Look at those tri toms! They're huge! haha
"TIC" 0:03 Rifle left side closest to the 50.
Tritoms! and their shape!
Bugles back then had one rotar and one valve. It's the equivalent of a mellophone today. Bugles went from no valves -> one rotar and one valve -> two valves -> 3 valves today.
*facepalm* at 0:28 I briefly wondered why all the cymbal players were so short. Then I realized they're all kneeling.
scott johnson played on the snareline this season
BD should bring this back for the 40th anniversary of their first championship
A couple of things that made it from here into later BD years....the "darrlls-bar" drum lick at the end, and I'm guessing the arms up and #1 finger from the last soloist is the gesture that was kept through 1987. I know we did it at the end of the show in 84 (right hand was a fist at prelims...#1 finger was saved for Finals)
Love this, but I actually prefer the 75 version of this piece, I thought the mello solo in 75 was quite a bit better
Yeah but the silks don't have the same GE as those Tux style cadets. 😎
If this number doesn't make groove along with it (or at least tap your toes ...) something bad is wrong with you.
@jboze3131 Yeah....but I first heard that lick in "Children if Sanchez," and I believe it actually dates back into the late 1800s or early 1900s.
I know and I must say look NO ELECTRONICS and AMPLIFICATION and they could JAM all Day long. 93 EUPH Bluecoats back when corps was still LOUD.
@TrumpetHero11 its actually a bass trumpet (explaining the rotary valves)
NEED MORE COWBELL!!!!
And I always thought the Madison Scouts leaned back a lot when playing high notes. 2:12
timpani on the field! :D
@trumpetslayer At that time most drum corps use G bugles. The soloist looks like he was using a Gitzen G Bugle Mellophone.
0:50 KEEP PLAYING THAT COWBELL AND KEEP ON PLAYING IT WITH PRIDE!!! AWESOME!!
Wasn't that a Jim Ott hornline?
This is the year scojo started marchin for BD
What kind of mello bugles were they using here?
@supercellcoaster North Drums, very heavy, shells cracked
Look a little harder, it's a 1 valve 1 rotor mello. They didn't start using 2 valve until 78!! No disrespect intended.
He's there in the snare line.
Was scojo in here?
waah waah waah BUT we need three valves,WAAH WAAH and they have to be keyed like band instrumentsTO SO IT WILL BE EASIER FOR KIDS TO TRANSITION and we NEED amplification, WAAH WAAH .
LOOK ,LISTEN, AND L-E-A-R-N children NONE of it is necessary.
WATCH these old videos ,LISTEN to the music that was accomplished ,AND the SOUND. WATCH MADISON '75 MACARTHUR PARK CONCERT. see where they were on the field? WAY BACK in the middle.AND no national recruiting,they took who came + made these.
Back when the blue devils were still good.
I bet the drum major's pits were sweaty by the end.
More tambourine!!!!
+Daniel Madden I can rock a tambourine!
@TrumpetHero11 Mellophone.
I mean where on the snareline?
What's with the tri-tenors? They look funny. :3
O_O
wowee ! That was great.
Except they'll be playing on trumpets and tubas, not sops and contras.
Anyone know what those tenors are???
North tenors.
@TrumpetHero11
@jboze3131 It's not the same. Very similar, though.
1975 and 1976 were such surprising years. No one understood how good anyone was,,every corp surprised itself. WE competed to beat ourselves, and we had individual themes. Good times....good challenges.
Your name is thot…
Respect to legends from a legendary era. Competeing to be better than yourself within your individual themes, is wonderfully inspiring!
The Drum Major seemed to be having the time of his life
Max Jones First Name
Dave Dugan
Micah Lall-Trail They were a drum corp for George Washington during the Revolutionary War lmao
Indeed they did
RIP Dugan. He just passed away today...
This was our signature song for that era. BD 76 was quite a year. First Championship, swept all captions at finals, 10 snares, North tenors, and believe it or not, even using the color white for the drums was different - chrome was "the" color of the day. The crowd's response was incredible from the field.
I remember the 32 count roll with the snares with the exclamation "Balls" for the warm up on the field before every show. You were also an amazing instructor!!!!
Much respect to a legend. Guys like you are a different breed and we sorely wish there were more people like you around today.
Rest In Piece to the legend David Dugan, head drum major from 1972 to 1976 aging out with the first of many winning shows. You will be missed
The mellophone soloist is incredible, starting at 1:45 and wailing at 2:10. I think it's a girl, isn't it? Any bio on this musician? Just so passionate, so elegant, so mad with intensity. Just a soaring performance.
+Channel Three It's Bonnie Ott, Jim Ott's sister.
+Channel Three Bonnie was actually playing with the Jim Ott Brass Ensemble at DCI SoundSport finals in Indianapolis last year. They played this tune and it was just as flawless there as it is in the video. It was amazing to see her play it live.
Before that at :35 was Jon Berkey.
Yes Bonnie Ott. She was an instructor in 1980 with the Capitolaires, all girl corps out of Madison. I saw her walking by in a powder blue corps jacket and she was insanely pretty.......at least to a drum corps newbie like me.
What kind of mellophone is that
@BDTrooper76 OMG BD you just made me cry.... I didnt appreciate BD until i bought the "albums" and laid back and listened to exactly why they got the praise they deserved...we were never competitors...we were part of something that anyone out of drum corps could never understand....we are part of something special...i still have the same friends I had 30 years ago... I love this activity...and I could never give back what this activity gave to me...so BD xoxoxoxo and many more!
Am I the only one who noticed the drum feature from the beginning was their opener in 2017 ?
it's a common rhythm in marching cadences, it originated from military drumming, as most things did with cadences
See: Steve Gadd, Crazy Army, for further influence reference.. actually, he might be in the drum line here
mgerard15 it's almost like... Metamorphosis??
Vsucc no that’s where they got the idea from
yeah their show in 2017 was about the evolution of the blue devils
Another one stuck in my head....The fantastic Blue Devils. Bonny Ott. Back when corps parked and blowed for a couple minutes. Love this song!~
Sister to Mr. Brass Jim Ott. Best horn instructor in DBC he created sound.
@@jimhaggett4651 ..... it's not his daughter?
Just so bad ass! ❤️ My brother marched baritone in this show. I watched it many times in rehearsal and in performance. These were the early years of Blue Devils really hitting their stride. So proud of them and their longevity! ❤️BD💙💙💙💙💙
No keyboards. No singers. No electronics. Just brass and balls, the way it was meant to be.
My dad marched contrabass in this.... He has some great stories from this season.
Love this Drum Major...he represented everything that was good in the 70's...
Amazing sound out of the REAL bugles. (piston/rotary F.E. Olds Ultratones)
One of my old time favorites of the Blue Devils. That female mellow phone player, Bonnie Ott, sure has a set of chops on her. I wonder where she is today !!!
The rifles at the end are fecking unreal.
When DCI put out excitement and sound.
Refreshing to see this.
Hearing this makes me miss the sound of marching
snare drums with mylar heads. Such resonance.
Rest in Peace Dave Dugan
Valve and rotary bugles.....this is how we played the game!!!! for all you young'ns out there, this part of the show was called the "concert" ( it's why theyre not moving) that which usually followed after a drum solo and the 'Off the Line" more commonly known as the "opener" these days