As we close out the school year and begin looking toward the summer, band directors turn their minds toward marching arts.
This year, I’m going through some history and exploring The Evolution of Marching via YouTube. I’m taking you along for the journey as well. Today, we’ll look at the first five DCI finals. Since video footage is rare from these days, I am really surprised to be able to find recordings from each of these years.
1972 – Anaheim Kingsmen
YouTube Embedding disabled, watch the excerpt here
1973 – Santa Clara Vanguard
1974 – Santa Clara Vanguard
1975 – Madison Scouts
Another video is available here but the embedding is disabled. I link to this one because the first is a standstill performance, and this one shows the limitations that the percussion section faced before concert percussion instruments were placed on the field.
1976 – Blue Devils
Gotta love the dancing drum major!