Description

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They always win the halftime. Members of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, embodying the spirit, camaraderie, and excellence of the school they represent, have marched and played proudly for 125 years. Here is the story of the music, the precision, and the tradition of the exceptional band that marches to the beat pulsing through the spirit of Aggieland.

Illustrated throughout with historical and contemporary images, this lively history pays tribute to the bandmasters and musicians who have made this organization the pride of Aggies everywhere. Organized around the tenure of its founder, Joseph Holick, and its directors—Richard J. Dunn, E. V. Adams, Joe T. Haney,  Ray E. Toler, and Timothy B. Rhea—the book marches through 125 years of tradition and excellence.

From the birth of the band, through the development of its marching style, to its most recent triumphs of precision maneuvers and military music, the story is as bold and bright as the band itself. War years, fish bands, boots, band lyres, corps trips, parades, and other traditions known and loved by former band members and other former students of Texas A&M University fill the book’s pages. An appendix lists all of the band’s eight thousand–plus present and former members.

This is the story of the determination, discipline, and enduring pride that rests deep in the heart of those young men and women who have been tough enough, proud enough, and good enough to be the noble men and women of Kyle.

About the Author

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MARY JO POWELL retired as associate director of University Relations at Texas A&M in 1998. She is also the coauthor, with her husband Donald B. Powell (1934–2011), of the first edition of The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band.