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Legendary Drum Corps Shows: Honorable Mentions

When nominating the “Top 5 Legendary Drum Corps Shows” for our July/August 2010 print issue, corps directors, members and fans also touted the following shows--listed in chronological order--for their impact on the activity.

1972 Anaheim Kingsmen (1st place) - DCI's very first World Champion set the tone for all others to follow.

1975 Madison Scouts (1st) - The Scouts couldn't be stopped with what has become "Classic Scouts: Slaughter on 10th Avenue, MacArthur Park and Rhapsody in Blue."

1975 Hawthorne Muchachos (Disqualified) - Fresh from a spectacular finish in '74, many felt this year would be Hawthorne's time to claim its first DCI World Championship, but the drum corps was disqualified after prelims for marching an "age-out" member.

1980 Santa Clara Vanguard (7th) - The Vanguard introduced innovative and asymmetrical drill that opened the floodgates for high velocity movement still used by modern-day drum corps today. The show forced major rule changes in the judging standards.

1980 Bayonne Bridgemen (3rd) - "Thunder and Blazes!" The Bridgemen showed that funny, crowd pleasing, and outrageous could also be well performed. The Velvet Knights adapted this show several years later.

1981 27th Lancers (4th) - Like the Troopers, the Lancers made its mark with its distinctive regimental uniforms and traditional drill and legendary performances of "Crown Imperial," "Niner-Two" and "Danny Boy."

1985 Suncoast Sound (6th) - "Florida Suite" was one of the most aggressively performed productions in the 1980's. It challenged perennial powerhouses like The Blue Devils and Phantom Regiment to step up their game.

1986 Blue Devils (1st) - The winningest drum corps of all time unleashed a fury of power and precision with "Channel One Suite," "Conquistador," "Spanish Fantasy" and "Chick Chorea Suite" that put the drum corps world on notice that performance excellence was the standard.

1991 Star of Indiana (1st) - "Roman Images" may have been Star's only DCI World Championship, but it raised the bar musically with amazingly difficult mellophone runs and a visual package that only The Cavaliers could take and run with in future years.

2002 Cavaliers (1st) - The Green Machine reached "critical mass" with "Frameworks" by completely revolutionizing the marching arts with its highly innovative general effect designs and by scoring a 99.15, matched only by The Cadets in 2005 as the highest DCI Finals score ever.

2005 The Cadets (1st) - Although there are several ground-breaking years for The Cadets, "The Zone: Dreamscapes in Four Parts With a Door" is arguably one day dream that took imagination to another level.

2007 Carolina Crown (6th) - "The Triple Crown" was perhaps one of the most crowd-pleasing show designs featuring "William Tell Overture" and a "photo finish" with guard members symbolizing finely trained race horses that has since vaulted Crown to championship contender status.

Comments

1. mikita21 says:
   August 15th, 2010 at 04:38
   I cannot believe the 1965 Casper Troopers are not here. That's the corps that first shook the foundations of what had gone before, with its precision, its unique story telling of the west, etc. Is nothing pre-DCI worth noting? As they say elsewhere in entertainment, the oldies are often the best............
2. Christian Parker says:
   August 16th, 2010 at 08:05
   (marched Scouts 88) It's interesting that only 2 show from the 90's made the main list or the honorable mentions. Where there no other great shows in the 90's than Stars's?
3. malber71 says:
   August 16th, 2010 at 18:49
   @mikita21 Because it's a list about DCI they could only consider corps shows from 1972 and after.
   Now to not consider Velvet Knight's 1992 Magical Mystery Tour show, considered by DCI fan favorites poll as a top 10 show of all time, that is a travesty.
4. Don S. says:
   August 18th, 2010 at 04:28
   Agreed! VK '92 was am amazing show...which maybe their best show ever...I wish they would make a comeback and be like they used to be in the '90's (before they folded in 1995)...A lot of great corps in the '90s should be on the list like Madison Scouts '95 "A day in the life of a bull fighter".
5. Carl says:
   August 25th, 2010 at 16:59
   Interesting that the 1971 World Open, considered by many to be the greatest single show of all time, and the show that launched DCI, does not have even one corps in the top 5, or even in the honorable mentions. Hmmmm.........
6. DJ says:
   June 11th, 2011 at 22:27
   Well, as everyone has already pointed out, this list is subjective and everyone seems to have their own opinion on who should be on it. I think it is especially amusing how some of these comments demand pre-DCI drum corps shows when this is obviously only about the most innovative and controversial drum corps shows in DCI and nothing else. I also agree with malber71, this list should have included VK '92. It is truly a shame that that corps folded in '96 and although a drum corps is back with its name, it does not even come close to the level of performance excellence the VK of old used to put out...
7. Steve says:
   January 5th, 2012 at 23:40
   Spirit of 1980. A tribute to Jim Ott brought tears to everyone in Legion Field. Those 3 minutes in and of themselves are the number one moment in Drum Corps history.

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