The Solid Gold Sound of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band represents the university at major athletic and extracurricular events. During the fall marching season, this 250-member band performs at the Rose Bowl for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Bruin Bruin, (from Dutch for "brown"), is an English folk term for brown bear. Bruin, Bruins or BRUIN may also refer to: Places * Lake Bruin, ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in northeastern Louisiana ** Lake Bruin State Park * Bruin, Ke ...

home football games. Pregame shows by the band aim to build crowd energy and enthusiasm with traditional UCLA songs like " Strike Up the Band for UCLA",
Bruin Warriors
, and " The Mighty Bruins". Throughout the game, the band performs custom-arranged rock and pop songs, as well as the traditional fight songs and cheers of the university. The UCLA Varsity Band appears at basketball games and other athletic contests in

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men ...

. In 2018, the Bruin Marching Band was featured on the Muse album "Simulation Theory" performing the Super Deluxe version of the son
"Pressure."
The UCLA band program, which includes the Marching and Varsity Bands, the Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band, is in the

UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, is “the first school of music to be established in the University of California system.” Established in 2007 under the purview of the U ...

. Band appearances at athletic events are funded primarily by student registration fees, a direct allocation from the Chancellor's Office and donations to the Solid Gold Sound Club. In 1993, the UCLA Bruin Marching Band was awarded the

Sudler Trophy The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of band music internationally. The foundation administers a number of projects and awards supporting high quality band performance, conducting, and compositio ...

, an award bestowed on one university marching band every year. Described by a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' reporter as " e

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

of the collegiate band world", the award does not represent the winner of any championship, but rather a band surrounded by great music and tradition that has become respected nationally. All marching members and teaching assistants in the Bruin Marching Band are full-time UCLA students.

Style

The UCLA Marching Band marches in a drum corps style with low mark times and glide steps. Field formations include fast moving precision drill progressions, letter blocks, pictures, concert arcs, and the famous Cursive UCLA formation. The band performs many different styles of shows, depending upon the occasion. The exception to the drum corps marching style is the traditional pregame "run-on" where the band rapidly high-steps onto the field into the block letter U-C-L-A formation.

History

In 1925, at the Vermont Avenue campus, the UCLA Marching Band originated as a 50-piece ROTC unit under the direction of W. G. Powell. The band was part of the welcoming group when

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...

visited Los Angeles in 1928, and were directed by Sousa in the performance of "

Stars and Stripes Forever "The Stars and Stripes Forever" is a patriotic American march written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896. By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America. History In his 1928 autob ...

". At that time, the director was Ben Laietsky, a member of Sousa's band. The band remained a military group until 1934. In 1935, under the direction of Leroy Allen, the group became an integral part of campus life, providing music at rallies and games. The original uniforms were military style, with military caps and waist-length capes. Under directors C. B. Hunt and Patton McNaughton, the band increased in size to 128 members by 1947.

Clarence Sawhill and Kelly James 1952-1982

In 1952, Clarence Sawhill became director of bands. F. (Freeman) Kelly James became the director of the marching band, a position he would hold until suffering a stroke at the UCLA- Cal football game in 1980. Sawhill and James grew the UCLA band program to include a 100-piece Concert Band, an 80-piece Symphonic Wind Ensemble, a 144-piece Marching Band, and a 60-piece Varsity Band. In the 1950s the UCLA Marching Band uniforms were gold/yellow jackets with navy blue pants, blue shakos and white shoes. The band marched in a military style. The band appeared in color on the cover of the November 26, 1956 issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''. It is one of the few so honored beginning with the University of Oklahoma marching band (1954), the

Princeton University Band The Princeton University Band serves as the marching band and pep band of Princeton University. Like most other Ivy League bands, it is a scramble band. To members and fans, it is often known as the PUB (pronounced ''Pea You Bee'') or simply The B ...

(1955), and later,

The Ohio State University Marching Band The Ohio State University Marching Band (OSUMB) is a university marching band named for and a part of the Ohio State University. The band, popularly nicknamed The Best Damn Band in the Land (TBDBITL), performs at football games and other events d ...

(1958). This marks the first appearance by any UCLA organization on the cover of the magazine. In the 1960s and 1970s the band emulated the

Queen's Guard The King's Guard and King's Life Guard (called the Queen's Guard and the Queen's Life Guard when the reigning monarch is female) are the contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official List of British royal res ...

. The band had a similar marching style, including the distinctive arm swinging, but also having the high "chair" step. The uniform pants were school colors blue and black trim, and imitation

bearskin A bearskin is a tall fur cap, usually worn as part of a ceremonial military uniform. Traditionally, the bearskin was the headgear of grenadiers, and remains in use by grenadier and guards regiments in various armies. Bearskins should not be c ...

(or tall busby) hats. In the early 1960s, the uniform coats were gold. later the uniform coats were dark blue. The shoes were black with white spats. In 1961, the band made a European Tour which included performances in Denmark, France, Austria, Germany, England and Switzerland. In 1972, women were admitted to the UCLA Band, as well as other college marching bands around the country as a response to the

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

educational amendment. Many marching bands, including the UCLA Band, had women members or a women's auxiliary unit during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but the bands gradually became all-male organizations after the war. In 1973, the band wore gold jackets, navy blue pants, navy blue turtleneck sweaters, and no hat, for one game. They were never used after that. In 1977, the school purchased new uniforms that were royal blue with yellow trim. The large overcoats had a white front with block vertical UCLA letters. There were tall white plush busby hats with blue and yellow plumes.

Thomas Lee and Gordon Henderson

In 1985, the band ordered newly designed uniforms, in the current military style. These uniforms were designed with band member input to replace the brightly colored 1977 uniforms. The uniforms consisted of navy blue wool trousers and coat with gold trim and white, knee-length, gold capes on the left shoulder. The shoes were changed to white. White gloves were standard as well. The large bearskin hats were replaced by Shako hats with white 12" feather plumes. An all-powder blue uniform was prototyped, but rejected in favor of the navy blue. The color guard did wear powder blue uniform coats and skirts similar in style to the new uniforms for two years. In 2007 the band was outfitted with new uniforms at the USC game. The coats were the then official " True Blue" color adopted by UCLA in 2004. Other elements from the 1985 uniforms were retained. In 1985, Thomas Lee came from the University of Texas to be the Director of Bands and Director of the Wind Ensemble. The UCLA Bruin Marching Band was the 1993 recipient of the

, presented by the

John Philip Sousa Foundation The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of band music internationally. The foundation administers a number of projects and awards supporting high quality band performance, conducting, and composition ...

in recognition of the Band's tradition of excellence and innovation. The band became part of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in 2007 when the departments of Music, Ethnomusicology and Musicology were combined. Musician and recording executive

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

gave $30 million to UCLA in November 2007, the single largest individual gift to music higher education in the western United States. Lee retired from UCLA in 2012, and Dr. Travis Cross was appointed the new Wind Ensemble conductor in 2013.

Traditions

For the football pregame show, the UCLA Marching Band traditionally opens with the ''Bruin Fanfare'' and ''Strike Up The Band for UCLA,'' a gift from

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

to UCLA. It was adapted from their showtune " Strike Up the Band", and was presented to UCLA at an All-University Sing held in Royce Hall during Fall 1936. The '' Star Spangled Banner'' is played by the band in concert formation. Then the band moves into the script UCLA formation to the tune of ''

Bruin Warriors Bruin Warriors, also known as "Sons of Westwood" and "Big C", is a fight song of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The tune comes from Big C, a school fight song for the University of California, Berkeley. The UCLA Bruin Marching Ban ...

''. The band marches off the field to '' The Mighty Bruins'', composed in 1984 by Academy Award-winning composer

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor, best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (and four of its sequels), ''The Karate Kid'' (and all of its sequels), '' For Your Eyes Only'', ''Dynasty'' (and its ...

to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UCLA Alumni Association. Following all athletic contests, the band plays the UCLA Alma Mater "

Hail to the Hills of Westwood "Hail to the Hills of Westwood" is the school song or alma mater of the University of California, Los Angeles. It was written by Jeane Margaret Emerson a 1929 graduate of UCLA, and adopted by the school in 1960. The current arrangement performed b ...

". After victories, this is followed by "

Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

Away game appearances

The entire UCLA Bruin Marching Band travels to the San Francisco Bay area each fall for either the Stanford or Cal game. This tradition began in 1931, when the band traveled to the Stanford game by ship from Los Angeles. Beginning in 1989, a portion of the band has taken regular season trips to football games at Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Miami, Ohio State, Colorado, Illinois, Washington, Arizona State, Oregon, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. In 2006, the entire UCLA Bruin Marching Band traveled to South Bend, Indiana, for a game at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Bowl game appearances

The UCLA Bruin Marching Band has made appearances at major post season college football bowl games throughout the country: *

Rose Bowl game The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. The Rose ...

, the "Granddaddy of them all" played in the

Rose Bowl stadium The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium located in Pasadena, California. Opened in October 1922, the stadium is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark. At a modern capacity of an all-s ...

, the home stadium of the Bruins in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. *

Aloha Bowl The Aloha Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision (then known as Division I-A) college football bowl game played in Honolulu, Hawaii at Aloha Stadium. History The Aloha Bowl was established in 1982 by Mackay ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

Silicon Valley Bowl The Silicon Valley Football Classic (SVFC), sometimes referred to as the Silicon Valley Bowl or Silicon Valley Classic, was an NCAA-certified Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that was played at Spartan Stadium on the South Ca ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

Las Vegas Bowl The Las Vegas Bowl is an NCAA Division I FBS annual post-season college football bowl game held in the Las Vegas area. First played in 1992, the bowl was originally held at the 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada before moving to the ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Freedom Bowl The Freedom Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, from 1984 to 1994. The bowl frequently invited a team from the Western Athletic Conference to compete against an at-large opp ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

Bluebonnet Bowl The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Emerald Bowl The San Francisco Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA and played in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally named the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl during its first two editions from 2002 to 2003, it w ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Holiday Bowl The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in San Diego since 1978. San Diego County Credit Union has been the game's title sponsor since 2017, and the bowl has b ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

Alamo Bowl The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the secon ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

* Foster Farms Bowl,

Cactus Bowl The Guaranteed Rate Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989. Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 through 2001, then ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

In 1980, 144 members of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band performed together with the Oregon State University Marching Band at a regular season football game for the Mirage Bowl in Tokyo, Japan.

1984 Olympics

In 1984, 125 members of the Band performed in the 736-member All American Marching Band at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Summer

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Los Angeles under the direction of Arthur C. Bartner. UCLA Bruin Marching Band Director Gordon Henderson served as an Assistant Director and Drill Designer and was in charge of the 144-member Trumpet Section. A small group of these students performed at various sports venues during the games, including those for Cycling, Gymnastics, Archery, Modern Pentathlon and Tennis.

Other events

*The UCLA Bruin Marching Band has entertained crowds at NFL professional football games on many occasions, for the Los Angeles Raiders, the Los Angeles Rams, and the San Francisco 49er's. *Fifty members of the Band, along with six members of the UCLA Dance Team, performed in the Chinese New Year Day Parade in Hong Kong in January 2006. The band spent six days exploring the city and performing at several venues. The parade was broadcast live all over the Asian continent. The band returned to Hong Kong in 2008 to perform at this same event. *Fourteen members of the UCLA Drumline traveled to Nagoya, Japan, from May 1 to 7, 2010, to perform at the 27th Annual Ekitopia Festival Parade. In 2018, twenty members of the Band returned to Nagoya to perform at the 35th Annual Ekitopia Festival Parade. * May 3, 2013 – The UCLA Bruin Marching Band opened for

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

50 and Counting tour concert at

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...

by performing ''

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff ...

''. The UCLA Bruin Marching Band's performance was reviewed favorably in media around the world. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' said that the concert started "with the UCLA marching band, which began the show by working their way through the crowd while playing a remarkably funky version of "Satisfaction." *In May 2016, 50 members of the Band and Spirit Squad traveled to Taiwan to perform at the Taoyuan International Band Festival.

Varsity Band

The UCLA Varsity Band plays in

for winter sports. The UCLA Varsity Band appears with as many as 160 members at Women's Volleyball in the Fall, Men's and Women's basketball in the Winter, and Men's Volleyball in the spring. The UCLA Varsity band also appears at many other events to support the highly successful UCLA teams such as: Soccer, Tennis, Track and Field, Water Polo, Gymnastics, Baseball and Softball. When the Bruin teams advance in NCAA tournament play, the Varsity Band can be found supporting the team at many venues outside Los Angeles. For Men's and Women's basketball, the UCLA Varsity Band has been with the team through their numerous

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

and

NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic ...

regional and final runs. The band has also traveled with the volleyball teams to the championship sites. In Fall 2012, the Varsity Band unveiled a new uniform for the reopening of newly renovated Pauley Pavilion, replacing the

Aloha shirt The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...

s the band had worn since 1996.

Movie appearances

UCLA's location near many of the major movie studios has helped to have the UCLA band to be selected to appear in many films where a marching band is needed. * ''

Elmer Gantry ''Elmer Gantry'' is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1926 that presents aspects of the religious activity of America in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it. The novel's protagonis ...

'' (1960) on camera * '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1969) on camera * ''

To Be or Not To Be To Be or Not to Be may refer to: * ''To be, or not to be'', the soliloquy from ''Hamlet''. Films and TV, theatre and books * ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1942 film), directed by Ernst Lubitsch * ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1983 film), a remake produced ...

'' (1983) on camera * ''

Iron Eagle ''Iron Eagle'' is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Alyn Elders, and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett Jr.Mann, Roderick"Sidney Furie leads the cheer for 'Iron Eagle'."''Los Angeles Tim ...

'' (1986) on camera * ''

Little Nikita ''Little Nikita'' is a 1988 American thriller film directed by Richard Benjamin and starring River Phoenix and Sidney Poitier. The film marks the first collaboration between Phoenix and Poitier (the second being '' Sneakers'' in 1992). Plot Jef ...

'' (1988) soundtrack * ''

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael ''Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael'' is a 1990 American comedy-drama film directed by Jim Abrahams and starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels. Plot Dinky Bossetti is a 15-year-old girl who was adopted as a baby. Dinky is an unkempt goth kid who is c ...

'' (1990) on camera * ''

Fatal Instinct ''Fatal Instinct'' is a 1993 American sex comedy thriller film directed by Carl Reiner. A parody of the erotic thriller genre, which at the time had reached its commercial peak, as well as being a pastiche of 1940s film noir and psychological t ...

'' (1993) soundtrack * ''

In the Line of Fire ''In the Line of Fire'' is a 1993 American political action thriller film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich and Rene Russo. Written by Jeff Maguire, the film is about a disillusioned and obsessed former C ...

'' (1993) soundtrack * ''

Legends of the Fall ''Legends of the Fall'' is a 1994 American epic Western drama film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison, the fil ...

'' (1994) soundtrack * '' That Thing You Do'' (1996) on camera * ''

Jingle All the Way ''Jingle All the Way'' is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and postal worker Myron Larab ...

'' (1996) on camera * ''

The Sixth Man ''The 6th Man'', sometimes titled ''The Sixth Man'', is a 1997 American sports comedy film directed by Randall Miller, and starring Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison. The film features real National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools ...

'' (1997) * ''

A Bright Shining Lie ''A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam'' (1988) is a book by Neil Sheehan, a former ''New York Times'' reporter, about U.S. Army lieutenant colonel John Paul Vann (killed in action) and the United States' involvement in ...

'' (1998) on camera * ''

The Waterboy ''The Waterboy'' is a 1998 American sports comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It was written by Adam Sandler as well as Tim Herlihy and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. Sandler also stars as the title character while Kathy Bates ...

'' (1998) soundtrack * '' The Out-of-Towners'' (1999) * ''

The Other Sister ''The Other Sister'' is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and stars Juliette Lewis, Giovanni Ribisi, Diane Keaton and Tom Skerritt. It was filmed in Long Beach, Pasadena, and San Francisco, California. The film was ...

'' (1999) * ''

Road Trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by t ...

'' (2000) soundtrack * ''

Don't Say a Word ''Don't Say a Word'' is a 2001 American psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy and Sean Bean based on the novel ''Don't Say a Word'' by Andrew Klavan. It was directed by Gary Fleder and written by Anthony Peckh ...

'' (2001) soundtrack * ''

Pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

'' (2002) on camera * '' First Daughter'' (2004) on camera and soundtrack * '' Click'' (2006) soundtrack * ''Gridiron Gang'' (2006) soundtrack * ''

500 Days of Summer ''500 Days of Summer'' (stylized as ''(500) Days of Summer'') is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars ...

'' (2009) on camera * ''

Silver Linings Playbook ''Silver Linings Playbook'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by David O. Russell. The film was based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel ''The Silver Linings Playbook''. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawre ...

'' (2012) soundtrack "Drum Cadence" * '' Struck By Lightning'' (2012) soundtrack "Play That Funky Music, White Boy" The band also appeared in the

41st Academy Awards The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, the first to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. For the first time since the 11th Academy Awards, there was no host. ''Oliver!'' is the only Best Picture winner ...

show in 1969 to play the ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

, which was nominated for Best Original Song. They were introduced by

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

and

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

as the "answer to the musical question: Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang?" Dancer Paula Kelly performed along with the band. It was listed by ''Newsday'' as one of the most memorable moments in the 1969 broadcast, the first international broadcast of the show.

Movie premieres

Because of the number of movies premiered in nearby Westwood and Hollywood, the UCLA Band has been invited periodically to be part of the festivities. In July 2007, the Band played for the premiere of ''

The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...

'' in Westwood Village. The movie was directed by David Silverman, who was a sousaphone player with the UCLA Bruin Marching Band in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Television show appearances

The band also has made numerous TV appearances on televised college sports, shows and commercials. National and regional broadcasts of UCLA athletic contests have included audio and video of the band in the stands or performing on the field. * The band appeared in an episode of ''The New

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

Show'' airing on December 27, 1961, entitled "Campus U.S.A." * An ad hoc band was put together to play "Copacabana" on the NBC special Dick Clark and a Cast of 1000s airing 9/6/1978. Famous lines from the Director "Can they march backwards?" * The band appeared in a

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

special in October 1980 * A member of the band, Gary Bittner, appeared as part of the introduction to each

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

-TV college football telecast during the 1988 college football season. * Members of the band marched onto the ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debuted in 1966 on the ...

'' television show season finale playing 76 Trombones to wish John Davidson good luck in a summer tour of ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...

''. * The band played the theme from ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' on the 2001 College Championship broadcast of the show. * The band has appeared on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

'' football College GameDay'' in Miami and Pasadena during football season. * The band has appeared on '' basketball College GameDay'' at Pauley Pavilion, as well as Atlanta, Indianapolis and San Antonio during the NCAA basketball tournament. * The band appeared on both CBS' ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...

'' and NBC's ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

'' in 2007. * Members of the Marching Band Percussion Section appeared at the beginning of a new

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

video during the

Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

Pregame Show on Fox. *The band performed ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' theme song at the end of the episode

Lisa the Greek "Lisa the Greek" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 1992. In the episode, Homer bonds with Lisa when ...

*The band performed ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'' theme on the premiere of the 24th season, aired on February 23, 2014 * ABC's '' The Goldbergs'', ''Barry Goldberg’s Day Off'' episode, February 25, 2015. * The Band played "The Mighty Bruins" and "Bang, Bang" on the ''

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

'' Show on January 20, 2016. * The Band played "Bruin Warriors" on the

Show on October 12, 2016. The Band also appeared on this show in 2019. * Members of the Drumline played on

Lip Sync Battle ''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...

on October 27, 2016. * Twenty members of the Band recorded music for the ABC series

Imaginary Mary ''Imaginary Mary'' is an American live-action/animated fantasy sitcom television series created by Adam F. Goldberg, David Guarascio and Patrick Osborne that aired on ABC from March 29 to May 30, 2017. The series is executive produced by the c ...

for an episode entitled “Prom-Com” that aired on April 18, 2017. The recording session was held in a historic studio that was used by Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, and numerous others, including Michael Jackson for parts of his “Thriller” album!

Commercial advertisements

The band has appeared in television commercials for *

Southern Bell Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company was once the regional Bell Operating Company serving the states of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina prior to the breakup of AT&T. It also covered the states of Alabama, Kentucky ...

Southwestern Bell Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. It does business as other d.b.a. names in its operating region, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and portions of Illinois. The company is cu ...

Federal Express FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

* ESPN's Sports Heaven (the

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

commercial) *

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

(

chicken nuggets A chicken nugget is a food product consisting of a small piece of deboned chicken meat that is breaded or battered, then deep-fried or baked. Invented in the 1950s, chicken nuggets have become a very popular fast food restaurant item, as we ...

commercial) *

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

"Think of us as a marching band" promo was aired throughout March and April 2013. *

Delta Airlines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wi ...

Album and video media

Dan Fogelberg album ''The Innocent Age''

A recording of the band is on the

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

album ''

The Innocent Age ''The Innocent Age'' is the seventh album by American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, released in 1981. It was also one of his most successful albums; three of his four Top 10 singles on the ''Billboard'' pop chart (" Hard to Say" (no. 7), "Sam ...

'' released in 1981 by

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his 1970s and 1980s songs, including "Longer" (1979), "Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and " ...

. The band is credited for "

The Washington Post March "The Washington Post" (often called "The Washington Post March") is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1889. Since then, it has remained as one of his most popular marches throughout the United States and many other countries. History ...

" at the end of the LP track "Leader of the Band", which rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Single Chart in 1982. The arrangement of the march was by Lawrence Fogelberg, a marching band director from

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, and also Dan's father. Dan played the cymbals during the recording session.

Destiny's Child video ''Bugaboo''

The band appeared in the

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

video "Bugaboo".

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

appeared in the video as the band's drum major, and also played the marching snare drum. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

received heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

Muse album ''Simulation Theory''

On November 9, 2018, English alternative rock band

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

released the album '' Simulation Theory''. featuring the UCLA Bruin Marching Band on the Super Deluxe version of the song "Pressure".

Maren Morris video for "Girl"

The Bruin Marching Band made a brief appearance in Maren Morris' video for her hit song "Girl".

Discography

The band has recorded several music

records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

and

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

s. *''UCLA BRUIN BAND'' – LP-1238 FSR (Fidelity Sound) *''Marching Along with Mary Poppins'' – LP (1965) Walt Disney Music, DQ1288 (Marching band arrangements from

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

) *''The UCLA Band Presents To The Blue And To The Gold, A Tradition In Song'' – LP (1977)Note: This album includes Bruin band music mixed with radio play-by-play by Fred Hessler of the semi final game of the

1975 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1975 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 1975, and ended with the championship ga ...

. The retirement announcement spoken by

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

to the press corps following the game is also included. *''The UCLA Bruin Marching Band "The Solid Gold Sound"'' – LP and Cassette (Songs from the 1984 season – recorded in the Ackerman Union grand ballroom) *''The UCLA Bruin Marching Band "The Solid Gold Sound"'' – LP and Cassette (Songs from the 1985 season and 1986 Rose Bowl – recorded in Royce Hall) *''The UCLA Bruin Marching Band "The Solid Gold Sound"'' – Cassette (Songs from the 1986 and 1987 seasons – recorded in the Ackerman Union Grand Ballroom) *''Bruin Spirit'' – CD and Cassette (1997) *''Bruin Pride'' – CD (1999) *''True Blue'' – CD (2009) *''Simulation Theory'' by Muse – the recording of "Pressure" on the Super Deluxe version (released November 9, 2018)

Directors

Notable directors of the band include W. G. Powell, the first director of the ROTC band, Ben Laietsky 1928–31 (former member of the Sousa Band), Leroy Allen 1934–47, Patton McNaughton 1947–51, Clarence Sawhill 1952–72, assistant director Kelly James 1955–81, Robert Winslow 1972–74, and Gordon Henderson from 1982 to 2019. Henderson is currently on sabbatical and is scheduled to retire in 2020. The current interim director is Kevin McKeown. The previous assistant directors of the marching band were Jennifer Judkins, former UCLA Drum Major Keith Kupper, and UCLA Ph.D. graduate Kelly Flickinger. The current assistant director, as of July 1, 2015, is Ken Fisher. The director of bands from 1985 to 2010 was Thomas Lee. Lee is a graduate of the College Conservatory of Music at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. Gordon Henderson is currently serving as director of bands.

Famous alumni

Ron Logan Ronald Logan (February 9, 1938 – August 30, 2022) was an American businessman who served as executive vice president of Walt Disney Entertainment (now Walt Disney Creative Entertainment). After retiring from the company in 2001, he was formal ...

– former Executive vice president, executive producer for Walt Disney Entertainment * David Silverman – animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series ''The Simpsons'' and ''The Simpsons Movie'' *

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologist ...

– American jazz saxophonist, was a member of the UCLA Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Gary Gray *

Gil Robbins Gilbert Lee "Gil" Robbins (April 3, 1931April 5, 2011) was an American folk singer, folk musician and actor. Robbins was a former member of the folk band, The Highwaymen. The ''New York Times'' described Robbins as a "fixture on the folk-music ...

– American folk singer, folk musician and actor, former member of the folk band The Highwaymen, served as drum major of the UCLA Band in 1949 and 1950.

References

External links

UCLA Bands directoryUCLA - University Of California, Los AngelesUCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
*
Clothes Make the Band
' Mark Davis and Misha Gravenor for UCLA Magazine, January 2008 (History of the UCLA Band uniforms) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ucla Bruin Marching Band College marching bands in the United States Pac-12 Conference marching bands UCLA Bruins Musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1921 1921 establishments in California