Sorry that the Works database has been offline for so long - things should be almost back to normal now. We lost the old database and it had to be rebuilt. We lost all the previous comments and ratings unfortunately, but onward and upward - it'll be better than it was before. Latest enhancements:

• Audio player now supports iPhones and iPads (although there's a bug with menus disappearing on iPads)

• Updated info and links for many marches

Thanks for your patience; looking forward to a great July 4th season!

On December 24, 1910, the Sousa Band embarked on a world tour. Although not the first group to travel around the world, the publicity generated was immense (although the financial rewards were only modest). Sousa's reputation, marches and recordings preceded him; he and the band were welcomed as conquering heroes at every port.

It is arguably the most famous march in the world and it's certainly one of the best!  It is recognized by the U.S. government as the official march of the United States (U.S. Code, Title 36, Section 304).  It has original lyrics by Sousa and some other words you may have learned as a child that are definitely NOT by Sousa ("Be Kind To Your Web-Footed Friends").  With crashing cymbals, bombastic brass and chirping piccolos, "The Stars and Stripes Forever!" gets millions of people on their feet, clapping and cheering every year.

Searching for Sousa music on Amazon.com will give you a list of over 500 CD's - many of questionable quality. Just so you don't get burned - here's my top 10 list of the top Sousa recordings available today. If you have other suggestions, please let me know!

The John Philip Sousa Home Page has been the best resource on the web for Sousa information for 15 years now, but it's been due for an overhaul. Quite a bit has been added and things have been reorganized accordingly. And I'm far from finished! Here are some of the new features of the new site:

• A new database of Sousa's compositions, including a separate page for each of his 136 marches, operettas, songs, etc. Each page features audio, video, images of the sheet music, program notes and more!
• The new database index includes a full listing of works as before, plus an alphabetic search (click a letter to see all works starting with that letter) and a index for each category which includes images.
• Registered users can rate compositions. Vote for your favorites!
• A new blog-based article system. The old articles have been moved there, and I'll be adding more. Would love to publish your Sousa articles here as well!
• Leave comments on any composition page, article or blog entry, and share the links on social sites like Facebook and Twitter. Look forward to your feedback, and appreciate you helping spread the word!
• Enhanced instant search feature - find what you're looking for FAST!
• A new photo gallery with images collected from far and wide

There is still much work to do and I am polishing the rough spots as fast as I can. Hope you enjoy... I've learned so much from all of you over the years and I hope these features will keep us better in touch going forward!