page_title: Purdue All-American Marching Band
section_title: History and Traditions
hierarchical_section_title: Purdue All-American Marching Band / History and Traditions
caption_attribution_description: English: Purdue Band "Block P" formation 1922
context_page_description: The Purdue "All-American" Marching Band is the marching band of Purdue University and the main source of auxiliary entertainment for Purdue Boilermakers football games. The AAMB is also the host band of the Indianapolis 500 race, having held the position since 1919. The band has grown from an original 5 members to 389 members. The three most distinctive features of the AAMB are the World's Largest Drum, the Purdue Golden Girl featured twirler, and the "Block P," the first marching band field formation created in 1907.
context_section_description: In 1886 the Purdue Student Army Training Corps formed a five-member drum corps to play music for the cadets during their morning conditioning marches.  While operating without a director until 1904, the band had started playing at Purdue football games and had grown to over 50 members.  However, during this time it played sporadically, as there was no consistent director.  Additionally, the band received almost no training and had to provide most of their own equipment.
  The band's modern history began when in 1904, Paul Spotts Emrick, a freshman from Rochester, joined the band.  His experience as a conductor resulted in his election as band president and director the next year.  During his senior year at Purdue in 1907, the band became the first to break ranks and form a letter on the field—the famous Block "P". In a 1953 interview with the Lafayette Journal & Courier, Emrick recounted seeing geese fly over a lake in the fall, saying "usually, they'd fly in a 'V', but once in a while, they'd change formation and fly in various figures. I used to wonder if you could do that with men drilling." The "Block P" has been performed during each pre-game performance ever since its inception.
  Emrick stayed on as full-time director after his graduation in 1908.  In 1921 Emrick commissioned the Leedy Manufacturing Company of Indianapolis to construct the world's largest bass drum.  The "Big Bass Drum" has been a part of the marching band ever since.  In 1935, during a Purdue football game at Northwestern University the band donned lights on their uniforms while performing at halftime.  With the stadium lights turned off for the performance, the band drew such awe from radio broadcaster Ted Husing, he referred to them as a "truly All-American marching band," hence the current title of the band.
  Emrick retired in 1954, and to date the band has been under the direction of just five other men:
  Dr. Al G. Wright (1954–1981)
  William C. Moffit (1981–1988)
  Joseph Manfredo (1988-1989)
  Dr. David A. Leppla (1989–2006)
  Jay S. Gephart (July 1, 2006 – present)
  Second director Al Wright added many "show band" traditions to the "All-American" Marching Band. He increased the size of the band, added baton twirlers, and changed the uniform to its current look. Wright built upon the patriotism suggested in the "All-American" name of the band by creating the "I Am An American" speech. This speech is read during each pre-game performance while the band plays America the Beautiful.
  Wright greatly increased the visibility of the "All-American" Marching Band across the world by taking the band to perform in many countries including Canada, Holland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Colombia, and Venezuela during the 1960s and 1970s. This tradition of international travel continues today, with other notable trips including an invitation from the Chinese government to perform in international cultural activities that lead up to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. In both 2012 and 2018 the Band also traveled to Ireland for the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin. In 2015, the AAMB traveled to Medellin, Colombia for the Feria de las Flores.
  In 1995 the "All-American" Marching Band was the recipient of the Sudler Trophy, the most prestigious award a college marching band can receive.  Currently, the "All-American" Marching Band is the only band from a university without a school of music to have received this award.
caption: The "Block P" performed in 1922
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