ADDRESS:
Drum Corps 1963-1971: Transition from Small Town to Big Time
Mr. Bill Haas
For those of us that marched in the 60's to the birth of DCI after the 1971 season, we
were part of the change of the activity from small town and city neighborhood corps
participating on a local level to an activity competitive on a national scale. The birth of drum
and bugle corps was in church halls, and VFW and American Legion posts in communities all
across the country. There were local circuits in every major metropolitan areas, both secular and
those run by the Catholic diocese.
Until the early 60's drum corps was largely a local activity, with then majority of a corps'
appearances held within 50-100 miles of their home. Boston, New York, New Jersey, Chicago,
Wisconsin and Toronto were the competitive hubs, each producing 3-5 corps annually in the top
25 of the activity. Each of these hubs had 20-50 smaller corps from open class to beginner level,
including feeder corps and all girl corps giving thousands of people the opportunity to
participate in the activity.
In the Boston area (where I marched), there were at least 25 open class corps
participating in two circuits: the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) and Eastern Mass, which
also had 30 smaller corps, drill teams and competitive bands. Rivalries were fierce, as almost
every neighborhood in Boston and community in the suburbs had member units in the circuits.
This was also true in the other centers of the activity.
As a sidebar at this point, I will briefly discuss all girl corps which have become a lost art
in the activity. At least one or two all girl corps were in the top 25 corps in this era, and today
most people wonder why there were all girl corps. Simply put, until the advent of the Casper
Troopers, Argonne Rebels and others, most of the activity had all male horn and drum lines. All
girl corps were the only place for young women to march and play an instrument.
I chose 1963 as the beginning point for one significant reason, it marked the birth of the
World Open Championships. The World Open, originally sponsored by Drum Corps World,
rose to a level of prominence unequaled in the activity in less than 5 years time. While the
American Legion and VFW championships were the more prestigious title, the travel
requirements to participate were out of the budget and equipment capabilities for many open
class corps. Because of the limited competition field, many of the champions were not
representative of the best corps in any given year, merely the best corps able to attend and
perform.
This scenario is familiar to those today who disagree with the DCI Championships being
held in Orlando for 3 consecutive years, but this was long before luxury buses and hundred
thousand dollar transportation budgets. There were many open class corps that traveled in the
familiar yellow school buses with equipment trucks that were converted step vans, milk wagons
and small delivery trucks. The difficulty of a mid level open class corps to travel from the
Northeast or the upper Midwest to (for example) Miami in 1968 were significant.
The World Open changed that picture in less than 5 years. A stable site was found in the
Manning Bowl in Lynn, Massachusetts and All Girl and Class A categories were added. Many
corps planned their year around a trip to Boston and the World Open. The larger corps from the
Midwest and West had a reason to come and match up with the powers of the East. By 1968 the
World Open offered the most complete field of competitors of all the national titles.
In 1963, changes were occurring in the face of the drum corps activity, the days of
Eastern preeminence were ending. It was the year of the last major national championship for
the Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, ending the run of titles by the Holy Name/Garfield
Cadets and Knights. There were many corps on the horizon starting to flex their competitive
muscles.
The Chicago Royal Airs and Casper Troopers were two corps whose impact on the
activity survives today. Beside their on field greatness, they ushered in the new era. They were
the first corps to spend a majority of the summer on the road touring, participating in many of
the large invitational contests and national championships. The Troopers traveled extensively
due to their location and the Royal Airs saw the new future of the activity. Invitationals had
larger purses and many paid appearance fees to participants to offset travel expenses. Two of
the most respected titles were the National Dream in N.J. and the CYO Nationals in Boston.
Crowds over 20,000 were normal and most large contests played to packed houses.
With the appearance of Casper and the Royal Airs on a nationwide basis, the rest of the
top 25 to 40 corps began to expand their horizons beyond their local competitions and circuits.
The importance of the invitational show tour concept, in financial and competitive terms was
becoming evident. There were many immediate benefits for the corps: more money than the
local circuit show purses, to be seen by wider audiences, to see your national competition more
frequently and to be judged by a larger cross section of the national judging community.
The emerging concept soon began to impact the on the field product, both musically and
in new, emerging marching styles. The larger corps were soon responding to different criteria
than the corps that participated only in the local circuits. The repertoires and drill designs that
had been successful in the local arenas had to be upgraded and evolved to compete in the newly
emerging "national" invitational competitions.
The theme shows of the early 70's had not arrived yet, but most corps were developing an
easily recognizable style of sound and performance. Musical charts began to increase in
difficulty, and classical music was beginning to be included. Marching was becoming more
involved , beyond the simple squad movements and linear, military drill. The level of
competition was increasing annually.
Soon the local corps were struggling to keep up with the larger corps. The options were
to invest to remain competitive (with increased travel and staff expenses), or to be left behind
the new emerging powers. The increased financial requirements created almost immediate
friction between the drum corps personnel and the unit's sponsor(s).
The first corps to suffer were those affiliated with the Catholic Church. Many units were
disbanded and/or lost their church sponsorship to resume in new forms while other corps
managers took their corps and staff, leaving the church with the name, equipment and no
personnel. These corps were in fact the first casualties of the increasing cost of competition, a
trend unfortunately that continues thirty years later.
1969 was truly a landmark year in drum corps history. Most of the top corps had made
the transition to being nationally competitive. The World Open and VFW were run
consecutively in Lynn, Ma. and Philadelphia. Regional competitive balance had become
dominant, with all areas of the nation (except the South) represented with championship caliber
corps and performances. What the members of the participating corps didn't realize was that
these championships were, in fact, an audition for the fore runner of DCI, the 'Combines'.
In the winter of 1969 and 1970, the first super circuits were formed in the Eastern and
Midwest Combines. The highest ranking corps in the regions were offered membership in a
circuit that would compete in 10-12 shows a year, against the elite of their geographic region.
The transition was now almost complete, the local circuits were now secondary to the new
regional 'Combines".
Competition began in late May and continued until late July when the 'nationals' season
began, much as the first part of the current DCI schedule is regional until the true 'DCI' season
begins in mid-July for the push to finals week. The other major change brought about with the
combines was the inclusion of audio judges tapes and after show judging critiques. The
transition from tick sheets to positive judging was born in the new circuits. Corps were now
actively changing their program in response to judges evaluation rather than 'cleaning'.
Which brings us to 1971, the last competitive season before the formation of DCI. A
totally new drum corps style was introduced, a form that had developed directly in response to
the new changes in the activity. The theme show, a cohesive program of music, drill and style
that completed the evolution from 'old style' performance oriented drum corps to advance drum
corps to an 11 minute art form geared to overall general effect.
In the winter of 1971-72, Drum Corps International was formed to become governing
body of the activity we know today. The changes in the activity from 1963-1971 changed both
the performances on the field and corps management techniques behind the scenes. This offered
the corps of the era the opportunity to expand their competitive arenas from local to national and
evolve artistically in music and design.