For more information regarding the Famous Maroon Band, contact the Band office by mail, phone, or online form.
MSU Bands
P.O. Box 6162
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Office: (662) 325-2713
Fax: (662) 325-0335
webmaster
Last modified: 05/15/2007
Beginning with its establishment as "The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi" in 1878, Mississippi A & M was a military school attended only by male students. As such, the first musician on campus was the bugler who awakened everyone with Reveille in the morning and signaled lights out with Taps in the evening. Drum and bugle corps were used to assist in the military ceremonies from time to time, but these were established and disbanded at the whim of the commandant in charge.
Little is known of the early history of the first bands at A & M except that 1902 is the official date that the first band was established by the board of trustees. The band during these early years was conducted by students and various faculty members who had some musical background. The period 1890-1920 was a period of strong growth of the agricultural high schools throughout the state and one was located on the campus of A & M. The students of these boarding schools were quite naturally drawn into the college activities and many played in the college band. Early Pictures of the band show not only college students, but also college faculty members and high school students.
In 1911 Carl Leake became the first "official" band director, although it was only a part-time appointment together with his woodshop teaching duties on campus. Professor Leake was a native of Iowa who conducted a number of military and city bands before coming to A & M. Among those bands were the Midway Military Band (Kearney, Nebraska), First regimental Cavalry Band (Gainesville, Texas), Gem Concert Band (Jackson, Mississippi), Second Regimental Band (Meridian, Mississippi), and the City Concert Band (Jackson, Mississippi). During the early part of the century the town band movement was very strong, with towns luring directors away from other towns offers of more money and other fringe benefits.
At A & M Leake taught band in the woodshop, which is presently the Concrete Structure Lab on campus. Putting his carpentry skills to use he made wooden music stands for a 40-piece band, some of which were still in use in the earl 1950s. Another interesting requirement of the job was that the director furnished all of the music for he band. Unfortunately, most of Carl Leake's music was destroyed when Old Main burned in 1959.
The band required auditions for membership as early as 1911. The first-chair men, together with the director, voted on whether the prospective members played well enough to merit membership in the band. The band had a fraternity-like atmosphere, due in large part to the fact that one section of Old Main was set aside as the band quarters and all bandsmen lived there. A highlight of this period was a Liberty Bonds tour by the band during which they traveled to Niagara Falls by train to raise money for the military effort of World War I. It is known that in 1918 a small group called the "Jazzer-up Jazz Band" was in existence in addition to the regular band. The instrumentation of this 8-piece group included cornet, violin, saxophone, clarinet, flute, trombone, drums, and piano.
Carl Leake died unexpectedly during a fishing trip in the summer of 1919. This started a succession of one-year directors until 1922 when Henry Wamsley became director. He was to remain at A & M for the next 30 years. Wamsley was a native of Arthur, Illinois, who had served in the U.S. Nav and afterward attended the University of Illinois for a short time. He was lured south in 1912 by an ad in Billboard Magazine which said, "Want a music education? Come to Mississippi A & M!" The band during these early years offered financial aid in the form of "expense men." An "expense man" was one who received full tuition and $10 per month for playing well enough to be first chair. Other types of expense men were those who received full tuition and $5 monthly if not first chair, and those who received full tuition only if further down in the section.
Wamsley's education at A & M was interrupted by World War I when he played in an Army Band. After the war he returned to Starkville, married, and opened a photo shop. He played in the A & M band after the war, but it is unknown whether he was a student at the time. In 1922 he was appointed director of the A & M Band and continued to operate his photo shop. In 1926 he was appointed postmaster at State College in addition to his job as band director. He held his dual capacity until he retired.
In 1924 the band had its first performance at the halftime of a football game. Prior to this time the majority of outdoor performances were done at fairs in Meridian, Jackson, Tupelo, and Grenada where the band provided grandstand entertainment.
A chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, a national band service fraternity, was established at A & M in 1923, but it went inactive during the depression. Re-activation was attempted in 1958, but was unsuccessful.
Being part of a military school, the band had worn military uniforms, but in 1926 this was to change. The 1926 A & M-Alabama football game was played at the East Mississippi Fair in Meridian. During halftime a contest was to be held between the bands of A & M and Alabama with the winner receiving a trophy to take home and display on their campus. Unknown to the Alabama band, the members of the A & M band had purchased new uniforms which consisted of maroon coats and white trousers. Thus breaking the military tradition, the band planned to premier these at the game. The A & M band performed first, and after the thunderous ovation they received for their performance, the Alabama band refused to go on. The members of the A & M band were numbered 40 at this time and thus became known as "The Famous Forty" of Mississippi A & M. The trophy which they won is still proudly displayed in the band hall at the present time. At the 1976 homecoming game the members of the Famous Forty were honored on the 50th anniversary of their victory. One of the members of the Famous Forty was so moved that he donated a large sum of money to the band in the name of Henry Wamsley. The donor, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that he wished the interest from the funds to be used for 40 scholarships for Maroon Band members to be based on the traits of loyalty, dependability, and espirit de corps which were so strong in the band 1926. The first of these "Henry E. Wamsley Famous Forty" scholarships was awarded in the spring of 1980 and will continue yearly thereafter.
At some time during the early 1930s the designation "Famous Maroon Band" was penned by a leading sportswriter, based on the "Famous Forty" episode; it has remained with the band until this day. One of the highlights of the 1930s was a train trip which the band made to West Point, New York, for the A & M-Army game. A & M won the game and the students wanted to have a victory parade in New York City, but permission was denied by the local authorities. However, the students, led by the band, paraded anyway and the entire band was almost put in jail for disobeying the orders of the local officials! Girls were allowed in the band in the mid-30s but their numbers remained very small. The band was known for its very tough military-like discipline. Professor Wamsley's best bands were the years immediately preceding World War II. The 1940 game against LSU in Baton Rouge was the first performance at a night game for the band. During this time band membership was held around 80 highly select members.
The period of 1922 to 1940 was a period of unparalleled growth in quality for the Maroon Band. Henry E. Wamsley succeeded in building the band program for a part-time activity of relatively small importance into the leading band of the South and one of the top bands in the nation. Many universities modeled their band programs after the one at Mississippi A & M. Wamsley even began a summer music camp in the 1930s, with the faculty including such notables as H.E. Nutt of the Vandercook School of Music and William D. Revelli from the University of Michigan. Mr. Wamsley was named director emeritus of the Maroon Band in 1976.
Members of the AEF returning from France after World War I brought the French tune Madelon back to the campus where it was given a new set of lyrics with the title We're Behind You. It was officially adopted as the fight song of Mississippi A & M in 1920. The lyrics to the alma mater, Maroon and White, were written by T. Paul Haney, Jr., a member of the class of 1920. The music was composed by H.E. Wamsley, and it became the official alma mater in 1932. The present fight song, Hail State, was composed by J. B. Peavey of Meridian and was the winner in a contest sponsored b the college to find a new fight song. Adopted in 1937, it is one of the finest and most distinctive collegiate fight songs in the country.
During World War II band membership declined greatly, but rose again after the war. Professor Wamsley's hearing began to deteriorate, and he attempted to reign, only to be refused by the college president. However, in 1952 Wamsley was allowed to resign and W. Thomas West became only the third official director of the A & M Band in 50 years! West was a graduate of LSU where he played under Bruce Jones. After a career as a professional musician he built an outstanding band at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi. Henry Wamsley remained as assistant director in order to make a smooth transition and to fill out his remaining years before retirement.
Throughout the years the Maroon Band had a number of rehearsal sites on campus. As mentioned earlier, the present Concrete Structure Lab was the earliest of these during Carl Leake's time. In the 1920s a separate building in the center of Old Main was used for rehearsals. In later years the band rehearsed in the Mess Hall (where chairs were moved before and after rehearsals) and in the Agricultural Engineering Building which is the present School of Architecture. After World War II the rehearsal hall was located on the top floor of the ROTC building built in 1938.
In 1954 the present practice field was built, but it was 12 yards too narrow.
It was made regulation size, finally, by bringing in fill dirt. It is on
site of the old married student housing and all of the pipes are still in
the ground. Many think that is the reason the field drains so well when
it rains.
In 1952 the band had 100 members, 89 of whom were freshmen. The first New Materials Clinic was held in 1953 as West attempted to lay the groundwork for the new music department by assisting high school and junior college band directors find new music. In 1957 the Music Department was established in the College of Education, and West was named the department chairman in addition to his duties as band director. In 1958 the band had grown to 120, but increased in quality as this was the maximum allowed by the college. Also in 1958 the name of the school was changed to Mississippi State University. In 1959 Peyton Crowder was named assistant director. Crowder was an outstanding arranger and arranged much of the halftime music which the band played until 1978. In 1964 the university allowed membership to increase to 150 and the band was split into two concert bands for the first time. By 1967 the band had grown to 186 and West resigned his position as Director of Bands in order to become full-time chairman of the growing Music Department.
Peyton Crowder followed W.T. West as director, and in the late 1960s and early in 1970s the band grew dramatically, thus following the trend of most college bands during this time. Kent Sills became assistant director in 1967. The first Stage Band Festival was held in 1968 and the first Junior High Band Festival was held on campus in 1968. The All-Star Band was added as a part of the New Materials Clinic in 1970. In 1972 the MSU Symphonic Band presented a concert for the Southern Division of the College Band Directors National Association in Baton Rouge. The band reached its maximum size in history in 1975 when it had 230 members.
A feature twirler was incorporated into the band in the 1940s. The majorette line became a part of the band after World War II, with 6 in 1952, 8 in 1953, and a maximum of 12 in the 1960s. Majorette lines in the 1970s numbered from 16 to 20. Flags were added to the band in the early 1970s and the rifles a couple of years later.
In 1978 Peyton Crowder resigned as Director of Bands in order to devote his full time to teaching within the Music Department. James Hejl, a graduate of the Universities of Texas and Michigan who had spent five years as assistant director at the University of Texas, assumed the position of Director of Bands.
Yet another chapter was added to the story of the Maroon Band with the establishment of the Maroon Alumni Band in 1979. This organization was formed to allow former band members to get together at least once a year to renew old friendships and meet band members from other years. At the first meeting of the Alumni Band over 100 members attended and marched at halftime of the MSU-Marshall game with the Maroon Band.
Kent Sills became band director in 1983, serving until 1997 as the band’s membership swelled to more than 300, making it the largest student organization on campus. In 1999, Rod Chestnutt assumed the director’s duties, and in July of 2002, he was succeeded by Elva Kaye Lance, the first female director in the history of the band program at MSU. Currently, the program consists of the Famous Maroon Band, the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and two Basketball Pep Bands. The concert bands maintain an active performance schedule, with the Wind Ensemble conducting recruiting tours of area schools each spring.
The Famous Maroon Band of Mississippi State University has a rich heritage as the oldest university band in the South. It is a heritage based on the skills and sacrifices of those students and directors who worked to make it truly an organization which represents the ideals of the university and the state of Mississippi.