Chapter 10
When America Saw the Future

For decades, marching bands had entertained football crowds.

They marched.

They played.

They performed halftime shows.

They competed.

Then, during the 1970s, something extraordinary began happening on football fields during the summer.

A new organization called Drum Corps International challenged young performers to imagine something entirely different.

What if a marching performance could become theater?

What if music, movement, choreography, color, emotion, and storytelling could all become one performance?

The ideas were revolutionary.

The drill became more fluid.

The music became more demanding.

The visual design became breathtaking.

The performances became works of art.

At first...

Only a few thousand people saw them.

Then everything changed.

In 1975, PBS began broadcasting the Drum Corps International World Championships.

For the first time, millions of Americans could watch the finest marching performers in the world without leaving home.

Band directors watched.

Students watched.

Parents watched.

High school musicians watched.

And across America, people found themselves saying exactly the same thing.

"Did you see what those kids just did?"

It was unlike anything audiences had ever witnessed.

Precision.

Athleticism.

Musicianship.

Emotion.

Storytelling.

Innovation.

It wasn't simply a halftime show anymore.

It was performance art.

Almost overnight, ideas from Drum Corps International began appearing in high school marching bands.

More creative drill.

Larger front ensembles.

Expanded color guards.

New visual concepts.

Greater emphasis on musical excellence.

Higher expectations.

The influence spread from coast to coast.

Friday night football would never look the same again.