Excerpt from Paul Bierley's wonderful book, The Works of John Philip Sousa (more on our Books page):
The Glory of the Yankee Navy (1909). The musical comedy The Yankee Girl was in need of a spirited march, so Sousa was prevailed upon to provide one. The march, one of Sousa's most interesting musically, was dedicated to the star of the show, Blanche Ring. Lyrics were provided by Kenneth S. Clark. The title underwent a process of evolution. The earliest known manuscript was labeled "Uncle Sam's Navy." Prior to the opening, newspapers referred to the march as "The Honor of the Yankee Navy."
Although Sousa had already been a mason for many years, he was sponsored into the Almas Temple in Washington (Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine) by his nephew in 1922. He composed this march in honor of the occasion and was appointed honorary conductor. At the national Shriners' convention in 1923, Sousa led this march in a performance by a gigantic band of 6,200 Shriners at Griffith Stadium.
