Army Bands and old ranks, why?

MAJ Ronnie Reams — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 16:00:27 -0400

I noticed that a band in the MDW on Capitol Fourth was wearing old rank stripes. Yellow cavalry, to be exact. There were Sgts Major, most common, some Troop QM Sgts, Regt QM Sgts and some Sgts. Did not see any stripes of Musicians, which I would have thought would be common in a band. Why not wear stripes of today's ranks? The jackets were red and not blue, so not a Cavalry uniform. Any ideas.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2015 5:53 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 17:53:59 -0400

i think it has to do with one serious old fashioned tradition from the days of many yester-year

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 7 at 2015 7:15 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 19:15:55 -0400

Perhaps it was "Pershing's Own?"

I don't know how the Army organizes their bands, but my wife was a Marine Bandsman.

We have our standard bands (Div, Base, MEF, etc) and then we have two specialty bands (President's Own, and Commandant's Own).

The President's Own is completely different than the other bands, in that they are "Professional" Musicians, not Marines (they don't go to boot camp). Instead of the Crossed Rifles which all Marines wear, their rank insignia has a Lyre.

I'm "guessing" that the US Army has a similar band, or that they have specialty chevrons for some uniforms (our Red Dress Uniform does).

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Jul 7 at 2015 9:31 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 21:31:22 -0400

MAJ Ronnie Reams, I agree with Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS in that it was very likely the United States Army Band "Pershing's Own".
http://www.usarmyband.com/

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Jul 9 at 2015 12:41 PM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 12:41:09 -0400

I started the Army as an O2E - Trombone player. Normally Army bands wear the same uniform as the rest of the Army according to Reg. But THE UNITED STATES ARMY BAND (Pershings Own) wears a very distinctive uniform so they will always be seen as THE UNITED STATES ARMY BAND. Gen. Pershing started the band in 1922 because he wanted a band to represent the Army as he'd seen in Europe. The band had worn regular army uniform but there was always a problem of identification, this was something the band members wanted taken care of, so the uniform they got now is what they and only they wear. The main problem came because some of the other Army bands didn't hold to the high standards of Pershing's Own and the Band members wanted this to stop so a complete different uniform was their solution. The uniform they wear now was first begun to be designed in 1965 and was first worn at President Nixon's inauguration in 1969. You can read the band's history: https://books.google.dk/books?id=_3UucxoMuAYC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=pershing+own+uniform&source=bl&ots=e7CTQ_zu43&sig=H2LAN8VOAB9f5v3yRwcDewObfCI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uqCeVcKeDaSvygPav52gDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=pershing%20own%20uniform&f=false

The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own": A Chronicle of the Commanders/conductors from 1946...

The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" was realized on January 25, 1922 when General John J. Pershing ordered, "You will organize and equip The Army Band." A history of this band has been documented by McCormick's 1970 dissertation covering years previous to 1947. In 2004, Weiss completed research that records a history of the band from 1945 to 2000. Each of these previous studies focuses on the activities of the band and not on the...

Response by PVT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2023 10:40 AM

PVT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 10:40:13 -0500

The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" is the premier band in the US Army. Thier "distinctive uniform" (what it is called) combined elements from army music from the 18th century to today. The red hat represents the red coats worn by Army musicians in the Revolutionary War. The civil war rank speaks for itself. There are other interesting aspects of their uniform you can find on their website.

There are 3 "special bands" in the US Army, all of which have a distinctive uniform. Aside from Pershing's Own, the US Army Field Band at Fort Meade has a similar high collar blouse with modern rank on the sleeves. They also do not wear the yellow shoulder cord or red hat that TUSAB wears.

The West Point Band wears a uniform that very much looks like a West Point Cadet uniform, although they are not cadets. Their blouses have white rank on the sleeves.

The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps wears revolutionary war musicians uniforms when they perform.

All four of these bands have a base rank of SSG. So, the rank on Pershing's Own sleeves is their current modern rank, in the style of the civil war. SSG, SFC, MSG, and SGM. They have one CSM.

I hope this helps...