From John Philip Sousa: Five marches that belong on a Fourth of July playlist

John Philip Sousa, the American composer known as “The March King,” wrote dozens of works associated with patriotic themes, most notably “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” In 1987, by an act of Congress, the work was named as the national march of the United States.

A military man, Sousa (1854-1932) served in the U.S. Marines Corps and U.S. Navy. In 1880, he became director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and remained its conductor until 1892. Leading “The President’s Own” band under five chief executives from Rutherford B. Hayes to Benjamin Harrison, Sousa also performed at the inaugural balls of James A. Garfield in 1881 and Benjamin Harrison in 1889. (“The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band continues to this day; it tours nationally and will perform Oct. 21 in a free concert at Orchestra Hall. 

Over his long career, Sousa wrote 130 marches, 15 operettas and countless works for orchestras. With the Fourth of July approaching, here’s a list of Sousa marches that best evoke the spirit of the holiday.

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” (1896)

Sousa’s most famous work, the march is usually played for the president of the United States after he gives a speech at a public event or ceremony (“Hail to the Chief,” based on a traditional Gaelic theme, is performed when the president is introduced.)

While at sea on Christmas Day, Sousa wrote the march in 1896 to honor a deceased friend. The U.S. Library of Congress calls “The Stars and Stripes Forever” “the best known and most beloved march in American history as well as a symbol of the promise of a nation to people across the globe.”

“Semper Fidelis” (1888)

President Chester A. Arthur disliked “Hail to the Chief,” then (as now) the personal anthem of the president, and persuaded Sousa to compose something more appropriate. “Semper Fidelis,” named after the U.S. Marine Corps motto, which means “always faithful,” was the result.

“The Washington Post” (1889)

The newspaper the Washington Post organized an essay contest, and Sousa composed this march for the award ceremony, attended by President Benjamin Harrison. Movie buffs will recall this march from the comedy “Animal House” (1978) as the renegade Delta fraternity members sabotage a homecoming parade. 

“The Liberty Bell” (1893)

Sousa initially composed this work part as of an operetta, but later transformed it into a march. The unveiling in Chicago of a painting of the Liberty Bell, the historic landmark in Philadelphia, and his son’s march in a  parade in the bell’s honor inspired Sousa to name the march “The Liberty Bell.”

Americans of a certain age will remember “The Liberty Bell” as the theme song of the British comedy TV series “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” In an ironic twist, the British infantry had adopted this work as its anthem decades before Monty Python, but it had to switch to another march because people would start laughing whenever the infantry would perform “The Liberty Bell.” 

“El Capitan” (1896)

This march was extracted from another Sousa operetta, El Capitan. It was played at Admiral George Dewey’s victory parade in New York in 1899 after the Spanish-American War.