John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; ( November 6 , 1854 – March 6 , 1932 ) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era , known primarily for American military and patriotic marches . Because of his mastery of march composition , he is known as " The March King " or the " American March King " due to his British counterpart Kenneth J . Alford also being known as " The March King " . Among his best - known marches are " The Liberty Bell " , " The Thunderer " , " The Washington Post " , " Semper Fidelis " ( Official March of the United States Marine Corps ) , and " The Stars and Stripes Forever " ( National March of the United States of America ) . Sousa ' s father was Portuguese , and his mother of Bavarian ancestry . Sousa began his career playing violin and studying music theory and composition under John Esputa and George Felix Benkert . His father eventually enlisted him in the United States Marine Band as an apprentice in 1868 . After departing the band in 1875 , Sousa eventually learned to conduct . From 1880 until his death , he focused exclusively on conducting and the writing of marches . He eventually rejoined the Marine Band and served there for 12 years as director . On leaving the Marine Band , Sousa organized his own band . He toured Europe and Australia and developed the sousaphone , a large brass instrument similar to the tuba . On the outbreak of World War I , Sousa was commissioned as a Lieutenant Commander and led the Naval Reserve Band in Illinois . Following his tenure , he returned to conduct the Sousa Band until his death in 1932 . Biography . Early life . John Philip Sousa was born in Washington , D . C . , on November 6 , 1854 , to John Antonio Sousa , who was of Portuguese ancestry , and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus , who was of Bavarian ancestry . Sousa started his music education by playing the violin as a pupil of John Esputa and George Felix Benkert for harmony and musical composition at the age of six . He was found to have absolute pitch . During his childhood , Sousa studied voice , violin , piano , flute , cornet , baritone horn , trombone and alto horn . At the age of 13 , his father , a trombonist in the Marine Band , enlisted Sousa in the United States Marine Corps as an apprentice to keep him from joining a circus band . Except for a period of six months when Sousa played percussion in a circus band of PT Barnum , he remained in the US Marine Corps band till the age of twenty . On December 30 , 1879 , Sousa married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis ( 1862 – 1944 ) . They had three children : John Philip , Jr . ( April 1 , 1881 – May 18 , 1937 ) , Jane Priscilla ( August 7 , 1882 – October 28 , 1958 ) , and Helen ( January 21 , 1887 – October 14 , 1975 ) . All were buried in the John Philip Sousa plot in the Congressional Cemetery . Wife Jane , daughters Jane Priscilla and Helen Abert joined the Daughters of the American Revolution ( DAR ) in 1907 . Their Patriot was Adam Bellis . Career . Several years after serving his apprenticeship , Sousa joined a theatrical ( pit ) orchestra where he learned to conduct . He returned to the U . S . Marine Band as its head in 1880 and remained as its conductor until 1892 . Sousa led " The President ' s Own " band under five presidents from Rutherford B . Hayes to Benjamin Harrison . Sousa ' s band played at two Inaugural Balls , those of James A . Garfield in 1881 , and Benjamin Harrison in 1889 . The marching brass bass , or sousaphone , a modified helicon , was created by J . W . Pepper – a Philadelphia instrument maker who created the instrument in 1893 at Sousa ’ s request using several of his suggestions in its design . He wanted a tuba that could sound upward and over the band whether its player was seated or marching . The sousaphone was re - created in 1898 by C . G . Conn and this was the model that Sousa preferred to use . He organized The Sousa Band the year he left the Marine Band . The Sousa Band toured from 1892 – 1931 , performing at 15 , 623 concerts . In Paris , the Sousa Band marched through the streets including the Champs - Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe – one of only eight parades the band marched in over its forty years . The band played for sold - out crowds both in America and around the world , including at the World Exposition in Paris , France . Personal life . Late in his life , Sousa lived in Sands Point , New York . Sousa died of heart failure at the age of 77 on March 6 , 1932 , in his room at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading , Pennsylvania . He had conducted a rehearsal of " The Stars and Stripes Forever " the previous day with the Ringgold Band . He is buried in Washington , D . C . ' s Congressional Cemetery . A school ( John Philip Sousa Elementary ) and a band shell were named after him and there was a memorial tree planted in nearby Port Washington , New York . " Wild Bank " , his seaside house on Hicks Lane , has been designated a National Historic Landmark , although it remains a private home and is not open to the public . He was posthumously enshrined in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1976 , one of just 102 Americans ever to be honored in such a manner . Military service . Sousa served in the U . S . Marine Corps , first from 1868 to 1875 as an apprentice musician , and then as the head of the Marine Band from 1880 to 1892 ; he was a Sergeant Major for most of his second period of Marine service . During World War I , he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Commander in the U . S . Naval Reserve and led the Navy Band at the Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago , Illinois . Being independently wealthy , he donated his entire naval salary minus one dollar a year to the Sailors ' and Marines ' Relief Fund . After returning to his own band at the end of the war , he continued to wear his naval uniform for most of his concerts and other public appearances . Music . Marches . Sousa wrote 136 marches , published by the Sam Fox Publishing Company beginning in 1917 and continuing until his death . Some of his notable ones are : Sousa wrote marches for several American universities , including University of Illinois , University of Nebraska , Kansas State University , and Marquette University . Operettas . Sousa wrote many notable operettas including : Marches and waltzes have been derived from many of these stage - works . Sousa also composed the music for six operettas that were either unfinished or not produced : " The Devils ' Deputy " , " Florine " , " The Irish Dragoon " , " Katherine " , " The Victory " , and " The Wolf " . In addition , Sousa wrote a march based on themes from Gilbert and Sullivan ' s comic opera The Mikado , the elegant overture " Our Flirtations " , a number of musical suites , etc . He frequently added Sullivan opera overtures or other Sullivan pieces to his concerts . He was quoted saying , " My religion lies in my composition . Writings , views and interests . Sousa had several additional interests outside of music . He wrote three novels – " The Fifth String , " " Pipetown Sandy , " and " The Transit of Venus " – as well as a full - length autobiography , " Marching Along " and numerous articles and letters - to - the - editor on a variety of subjects . He participated in trapshooting , taking an active role on the national stage in competitions . Trapshooting . As a trapshooter , he ranks as one of the all - time greats , and is enshrined in the Trapshooting Hall of Fame . He organized the first national trapshooting organization , a forerunner to today ' s Amateur Trapshooting Association ( ATA ) . Sousa remained active in the fledgling ATA for some time after its formation . Some credit Sousa as the father of organized trapshooting in United States . He also wrote numerous articles about trapshooting . Sousa was a regular competitor representing the United States Navy in trapshooting competitions , particularly against the United States Army . Available records indicate that Sousa registered more than 35 , 000 targets during his shooting career . A quote from his Trapshooting Hall of Fame biography says it best : " Let me say that just about the sweetest music to me is when I call , ‘ pull , ’ the old gun barks , and the referee in perfect key announces , ‘ dead ’ . " Writing . In his 1902 novel " The Fifth String " , a young violinist made a deal with the Devil for a magic violin with five strings . The strings can excite the emotions of Pity , Hope , Love and Joy – the fifth string was of Death and can be played only once before causing the player ' s own death . He was unable to win the love of the woman he desired . At a final concert , he played upon the death string . In 1905 , Sousa published a book " Pipetown Sandy " , which included a satirical poem titled " The Feast of the Monkeys " . The poem described " a lavish party attended by variety of animals , however , overshadowed by the King of Beasts , the lion . . . who allows the muttering guests the privilege of watching him eat the entire feast " . At the end of his gluttony , the lion explained , " Come all rejoice , You ’ ve seen your monarch dine . " In 1920 , he wrote a 40 , 000 - word story , " The Transit of Venus " . It was about a group of misogynists called the Alimony Club who , as a way of temporarily escaping the society of women , embark on a sea voyage to observe the transit of Venus . The captain ' s niece , however , had stowed away on board and soon won over the men . Sousa also wrote a booklet , " A manual for trumpet and drum " , published by the Ludwig drum company , with advice for playing drums and trumpet . An early version of the trumpet solo to " Semper Fidelis " was included in this volume . Opposition to recording . Sousa held a very low opinion of the emerging and upstart recording industry . In a submission to a congressional hearing in 1906 , he argued : Law professor Lawrence Lessig cited this passage to argue that in creating a system of copyrights in which control of music is in the hands of record labels , Sousa was essentially correct . Sousa also was credited with referring to records as " canned music , " referring to the fact that cylinder records were sold in cans . Sousa ' s antipathy to recording was such that he often refused to conduct his band if it was being recorded . Nevertheless , Sousa ' s band made numerous recordings , the earliest being issued on cylinders by several companies , followed by many recordings on discs by the Berliner Gramophone Company and its successor , the Victor Talking Machine Company ( later RCA Victor ) . The Berliner recordings were conducted by Henry Higgins ( one of Sousa ' s cornet soloists ) and Arthur Pryor ( Sousa ' s trombone soloist and assistant conductor ) , with Sousa quoted as saying , " I have never been in the gramophone company ' s office in my life . " A handful of the Victor recordings were actually conducted by Sousa , but most were conducted by Pryor , Herbert L . Clarke , Edwin H . Clarke , or by four of Victor ' s most prolific house musicians : Walter B . Rogers ( who had also been a cornet soloist with Sousa ) , Rosario Bourdon , Josef Pasternack , and Nathaniel Shilkret . Details of the Victor recordings are available in the external link below to the EDVR . Other interests . Sousa also appeared with his band in newsreels and on radio broadcasts ( beginning with a 1929 nationwide broadcast on NBC ) . In 1999 , Legacy Records released some of Sousa ' s historic recordings on CD . In 1922 , he accepted the invitation of the national chapter to become an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi , the national honorary band fraternity . In 1925 , he was initiated as an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia , the national fraternity for men in music , by the fraternity ' s Alpha Xi chapter at the University of Illinois . In 1952 , 20th Century Fox honored Sousa in their Technicolor feature film " Stars and Stripes Forever " with Clifton Webb portraying the composer . Fox music director Alfred Newman arranged the music and conducted the studio orchestra for the soundtrack . It was loosely based on Sousa ' s memoirs , " Marching Along " . References . A John Philip Sousa Bibliography - Books / Collections Articles Dissertations External links . music