Development of Band Music in America 4

Originally Aired: August 5, 1936 In Cavalcade of America #43, "Development of Band Music in America 4," legendary bandleader Arthur Pryor hosts an evening celebrating the rich history of American band music, weaving together live performances with memorable stories from his distinguished career. The program opens with Pryor dedicating a new march to Will Rogers before taking listeners on a musical journey through circus life, complete with seal performances, trapeze acts, and lion tamers, all accompanied by the essential circus band. The episode then revisits two dramatic incidents from band history, including a near-panic in Kansas City when audience members shouting "Pryor!" were mistaken for cries of "Fire!" during a Sousa band concert, and a humorous confrontation in Miami where an audience member insists he's been swindled because the bandleader lacks the black beard of the original Pryor, only to discover he's thinking of Arthur's father, Samuel D. Pryor. The broadcast celebrates the evolution of American band music from small-town ensembles to grand concert organizations, featuring selections from Victor Herbert's Algeria and Sibelius's Finlandia, before culminating with Sousa's immortal march "The Stars and Stripes Forever."