Except for impending disaster, circus bands never played the tune under any circumstances. It subtly notified personnel of emergency situations and ideally allowed them to organize the audience's exit without causing the chaos and panic that an overt declaration might. In the early 20th century, when it was common for theaters and circuses to have house bands, this march was a traditional code signaling a life-threatening emergency. Historically, in show business and particularly in theater and the circus, this piece is called 'the Disaster March'. Following an Act of Congress in 1987, it was officially adopted as the national march of the United States of America.
It was first performed at Willow Grove Park, just outside Philadelphia, on May 14, 1897, and was immediately greeted with enthusiasm. He composed the march in his head and committed the notes to paper on arrival in the United States. Sousa was on board an ocean liner on his way home from a vacation with his wife in Europe and had just learned of the recent death of David Blakely, the manager of the Sousa Band. In his 28 autobiography, Marching Along, Sousa wrote that he composed the march on Christmas Day, 1896. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America. ' The Stars and Stripes Forever' is a patriotic American march written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896.
