"The Billboard March" is a

circus march A screamer is a circus march intended to stir up the audience during the show. History Screamers were mostly composed in a 60-year period (1895–1955). Circuses were in need of music that would stir the audience into a frenzy, as four-fo ...

written in 1901 by John N. Klohr, and dedicated to the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' music-industry magazine. Its tune is widely known among Americans, and it has been repeatedly used in

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

, even though its title is little known. The major theme of its last half lends itself to songs. A relatively early "

G-rated The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...

" set of lyrics for it was heard from engineers who had been students at Capitol Radio Electronics Institute by

Willard Scott Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC bro ...

and

Ed Walker Ed Walker may refer to: * Ed Walker (radio personality) (1932–2015), American radio personality * Ed Walker (American football), American football player and coach of football and basketball * Ed Walker (American football official), NFL official ...

, the stars of what became '' The Joy Boys'' radio program at WRC-AM in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in the 1950s. They recorded it in two versions (a duet between them, and Walker singing in four-part harmony with himself), for use as, respectively, the opening and closing themes for the show:Where did the theme music come from?
/ref> : We are the joy boys of radio; : We chase electrons to and fro-o-o. : We are the joy boys of radio; : We chase electrons to and fro. That version was adapted into one sung and whistled by the drugged

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 1964 film ''

Ensign Pulver ''Ensign Pulver'' is a 1964 American Technicolor film in Panavision and a sequel to the 1955 film '' Mister Roberts''. The film stars Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, Walter Matthau and Tommy Sands and features Millie Perkins, Larry Hagman, Kay M ...

''. The 2004 film ''

The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife and young mother who suspects that something in Stepford's environment is changing the wives fr ...

'' used the march. The tune is a popular campfire song for children in summer camps, set as a knock-knock joke, and using the lyrics: "Bring back the billboard, upon the hill. Because that billboard gave me such a thrill. When I was younger, and just a child, that sexy billboard drove me wi-i-ld" The same song tune is used for a group of rowdy songs that share the line : I love a gang bang r "gangbang"followed by a line beginning either "I always ..." or "Oh yes I ...". Songs
at Winona State University Men's Rugby Club

References

External links

Burl Ives's rendition
from ''

''
John Klohr - The Billboard March
��50-sec. stereo of best known theme, in Belwin Beginning Band Series arrangement
Billboard March
at We7—13-word ad and 100-sec. stereo {{DEFAULTSORT:Billboard March March music 1901 compositions