National Emblem
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (March 2018) |
| National Emblem | |
|---|---|
| March by Edwin Eugene Bagley | |
,_by_Edwin_Eugene_Bagley.png) | |
| Composed | 1902 |
| Published | 1906 |
| Recorded | 19 May 1908 |
"National Emblem" played by the U.S. Army Band | |
"National Emblem", also known as the National Emblem March, is a U.S. march composed in 1902 and published in 1906 by Edwin Eugene Bagley. It is a standard of the U.S. march repertoire, appearing in eleven published editions. The U.S. military uses the trio section as ceremonial music for the entry of the ceremony's official party.
History
Bagley composed the score during a 1902 train tour with his family band, Wheeler's Band of Bellows Falls, Vermont.
In the first strain, Bagley incorporated the first twelve notes of "
The band of Arthur Pryor made the first recording of the march on May 19, 1908, followed by a United States Marine Band recording on March 21, 1914 (both recordings by the Victor Talking Machine Company).[3]
Reception
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John Philip Sousa was once asked to list the three most effective street marches ever written. Sousa listed two of his own compositions, but he selected "National Emblem" for the third. When Sousa formed and conducted the 350-member U.S. Navy Jacket Band at the Naval Station Great Lakes he chose five marches for World War I Liberty bond drives. Four were by Sousa—"Semper Fidelis", "Washington Post", "The Thunderer", "Stars and Stripes Forever", and Bagley's "National Emblem March".
Legacy
"National Emblem March" was the favorite march composition of Frederick Fennell, who made an arrangement of it in 1981. Fennell called the piece "as perfect a march as a march can be".
Besides Fennell's arrangement, there are also band arrangements by Albert Morris (1978), Andrew Balent (1982), Paul Lavender (1986), and Loris J. Schissel (2000).
In popular culture
- In 1960 a group of studio musicians led by Ernie Freeman recorded a rock and roll arrangement of the tune, which was subsequently released as a Liberty Records single under the title National City and credited to the Joiner (Arkansas) Junior High School Band. It became a minor hit, reaching #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[4]
- The march has been featured in films such as Miracle on 34th Street, The Dirty Dozen, Protocol and Hot Shots!.[citation needed]
- A theme from the march is quoted in Phil Ochs's song The War Is Over.
References
- ^ Bellows Falls Historical Society
- ^ "Band music" (PDF).
- ^ E. E. Bagley. "National Emblem March" – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100 - Week of June 6, 1960". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
Further reading
- Duffy, John J. (2003). The Vermont Encyclopedia. UPNE. p. 46.
