Here’s something fascinating most of us may not realize as we watch the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast every November: Way before the public eye catches those colorful balloons floating down the New York City streets, those streets echo and pulse with music performed live by talented marching bands.
Yet what’s remarkable is that among all the glitz, spectacle, and celebrities, it’s often the high school and college marching bands with some of the longest and most interesting ties to the parade’s history.
Bands performed even during the early 1920s planning stages before the first parade stepped off in 1924.
Nearly a century later, in an age of on-demand digital entertainment, these young musicians proudly march through history, bringing that live musical heart and soul to one of America’s most cherished holidays.
So let’s lift up and appreciate some of those untold stories and little-known history gems behind the parade’s marching bands.
There are great tales of perseverance, camaraderie, and holiday spirit marching triumphantly through the decades.
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The Pride of Hard Times: Early 1920s
We can’t fully grasp the meaning of those early bands without first understanding the bleak backdrop they marched against.
The early 1920s, post-World War One, were a period of punishing economic depression. So, with a mix of desperation and can-do spirit, the early Macy’s Day Parades were as much a commercial ploy to attract shoppers as a wholesome antidote to the dreary times.
Macy’s department store executives partnered with theatrical producer Tony Sarg to conceive those first parades as upbeat community spectacles filled with whimsy, fantasy, and optimism against the gloom.
Marching Music Sets the Tone
Instrumental to setting that positive parade tone was live marching music. In a 1921 New York Times article previewing Macy’s first-ever Christmas Parade coming in December, it prominently announced “3 Bands” among the procession attractions.
Think of it — organizers understood that music and marching bands would help launch this new tradition toward enduring success.
So on that crisp and historic morning of December 2, 1921, as puppeteers, clowns, and Santa himself stepped off to delighted cheers, they were proudly led and accompanied down the parade route by the Bryn Mawr Band, the Grover Cleveland High School Band, and a specialty group called the Narragansett Indians Band.
Together, those musical marching footsteps left an imprint that still impacts millions on Thanksgiving mornings today.
Growth Meets Great Depression
Like the balloons getting larger and more grandiose each year, the spectacle and scale of the early Thanksgiving Day parades grew exponentially throughout the 1920s.
The 1927 parade made history with the first giant helium balloon, and Broadway-style performances became commonplace. Marching bands multiplied, with reports of up to 25 bands in the lineups by 1929 as the roaring 20s finished with a flourish.
But here again, external hardship would shape the parade’s marching bands moving forward…
When the Great Depression hit around 1930, many critics understandably called for canceling such an extravagance altogether. With so many Americans devastated and fighting poverty, why should the city allow such lavish displays?
As organizations pulled sponsorship dollars, it ultimately came down to Macy’s executives to bankroll the parade financially and philosophically or let it disappear.
Executives doubled down on the intangible positives the spectacle parade offered citizens in need of relief and inspiration. And the music would soothe and support the way.
Macy’s hired new creative leadership in holiday events coordinator Jeanette A. Lee, and she focused on economizing while also expanding the marching band presence with auditions around the tri-state area.
Local high school and university marching bands were hired based on skill and ability to transport themselves, house, and feed members without hotel costs.
The number of bands swelled to over 30 by 1935, providing free-spirited live entertainment during oppressive times.
The Bands Marched On
Beyond temporary Depression challenges, marching bands gave continuity and tradition year after year, no matter what trials came next…
Through controversies in World War II years, like balloon and helium shortages, the bands bolstered patriotic spirit with songs of resilience. Through political protests and stock market ups and downs in later decades, the bands ushered in the holiday cheer.
Through rainy Thanksgiving like in 1969 and 1971, the piccolos whistled, and trumpets blared rain or shine. Even when parades were briefly detoured due to New York City Marathon routes in recent years, the show went on with spunk and sparkle courtesy of the bands.
The Digital Age Brings New Identity Struggles
This brings us to modern times and a world dominated by digital spectacle and entertainment manufactured via computers rather than created by human hands and instruments.
So, how have marching bands grappled to maintain their identity and appeal? Are they fading anachronisms displaced by flashy graphics, dancing cartoon balloons, and escapist fantasies?
A strong argument can be made that by remaining steadfastly themselves—living and breathing musicians proudly playing instruments and marching together—they stand out as emotional grounding rods during the artificial flash surrounding them.
They may not be as eye-popping to young viewers as gigantic Snoopy balloons, but their music conjures deeper substance and humanity.
There is honor in the patient practice to synchronize steps. Camaraderie in supporting one another to play unified harmonies. Andrich echoes American tradition, reminding us that cooperative communities can create meaningful beauty.
The Magic of Imperfection
Unlike robotic pop stars or animation constructs that never miss a move, the innate imperfections of the marching bands also charm our irrational beating hearts. We identify with their underdog place on the national stage between Hollywood celebrities and Broadway dancers.
We unconsciously long for the goosebumps crescendo of notes that aren’t technically perfect but perfectly rousing. And for the tiny moments of spirited improvisation as tubas waddle to catch up or bass drum players momentarily lock eyes through chance.
One might argue our human-to-human connection travels more fluently along those live vibrations.
And so the great parade marching tradition perseveres…
Whether warming smiles while passing cheering crowds packed 20-deep on Manhattan sidewalks…Or amplifying spirits strutting proudly under the Great American Gateway of Macy’s Herald Square…
The instruments, banners, uniforms, and pageantry still shine brightly as living history honoring past, present, and future.
Underdogs No More, Undervalued No More
Finally, the noticeable expansion of marching bands getting spotlighted separately during television broadcasts over the last decade is worth noting.
Perhaps network executives realized the emotional wallop seeing and hearing the musicians inspires, harkening back to memories of our youth.
Or maybe recognizing viewers can better connect with real-life local teens than surrounding flashy entertainment.
Whatever the reasons, well-deserved attention now showcases bands like the Macy’s Great American Marching Band of high school students representing multiple states…The NYPD marching band is in crisp navy uniforms and performing with precision perfection.
The high-kicking Kilgore Rangerettes dance team from Texas is sending crowds into orbit…And HBCU college bands lift spirits with brash brass, sultry saxophones, and combustible cadence.
We cheer loudest for the underdogs. What’s apparent when we lean in to truly listen and watch the marching bands is that they may have been underdogs once, but they now own an unequaled place in our culture’s history and mythology.
They are the fundament, the foundation, the very tempo, keeping an iconic parade moving through time. So let’s offer gratitude and give thanks this season for the bands marching proudly through the decades so we can continue passing-holiday memories and traditions to new generations.
The footsteps echo on, new yet familiar. The music swells anew while steeped in tradition.
The parades march on for another century, following the immutable beats and crescendos gifted year after year, measure by measure from the marching bands leading the way…
