Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps


Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive drum and bugle corps. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Spirit of Atlanta is a member corps of Drum Corps International.

History

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Founding

In 1976, Freddy and Linda Martin and Bob Hoehn met with the management of an Atlanta area television station to discuss starting an Atlanta-area drum and bugle corps. After a series of successful meetings, Spirit of Atlanta was founded. The corps was originally named "Concourse". A contest was held to find a new, more appropriate name, and "Spirit of Atlanta" was chosen. The corps was a DCI first in that it was sponsored by television station WXIA, making it the first corporate-sponsored drum corps. The founding director of the corps is Mr. Freddy Martin.

1970s

With Freddy Martin as corps director, members were recruited. A program with no particular musical style was worked up, and Spirit of Atlanta was introduced to the drum corps public at contests in at least nine states in the South and Midwest. At the 1977 DCI World Championships in Denver, Spirit finished twenty-third of forty-five corps.
A first year finish of twenty-third was respectable, but Spirit of Atlanta wanted more and an effort was made to secure the finest instructional staff possible. Two new caption heads were hired; brass head Jim Ott from the DCI Champion Blue Devils and percussion head Tom Float from Toronto's Oakland Crusaders, a corps renowned for their drumming. With these two hires, the core instructional group was in place which would take the corps to new heights. Adopting a style that has been referred to as "Southern Jazz", Spirit stunned the drum corps world in 1978, vaulting into eighth place at DCI Prelims in Denver; then at Finals, the corps rose even higher, finishing in sixth place and losing the High Brass title to the Phantom Regiment by half of a tenth of a point. Both the brass and percussion were among the best in the drum corps activity, and Spirit moved up into a fourth-place finish at DCI in Birmingham, Alabama in 1979, featuring the song that would become the corps' trademark tune, "Georgia on my Mind."

1980s

Tragedy struck Spirit while the corps was on tour in 1980. When one of their vans was in a traffic accident on Interstate 55 near Grenada, Mississippi, brass arranger and caption head Jim Ott was killed. Spirit's members and staff were devastated, but the corps recovered to honor Ott's memory by repeating their fourth-place finish at DCI Finals in Birmingham, AL. In 1980, the percussion line had the high execution score at finals and tied for the overall high percussion title.
Prior to the 1981 season, the corps lost its corporate sponsorship from WXIA. Financial adjustments were made and the corps continued on. Following the loss of Jim Ott in the 1980 season new staff members were needed to fill the vacancies. For the summer of 1981, the drill designer was Steve Moore; horn caption heads included Gary Markham and Joel Schultz. Visual Designers were Freddy Martin and John Armstrong. The guard instructors brought in the varied talents of Julie Gilbert of the Crossmen, Cindy Anderson of the Guardsmen, and Robert S. Robinson of Jacksonville State University and Chapter V Winter Guard. Tom Float remained percussion caption head and Mike Back, who was a percussion instructor in 1980 returned to the staff. Spirit of Atlanta repeated the musical program of the 1980 season in 1981, with the exception of the concert number, hoping for higher levels of competitive success. This was not to be the case, as the corps finished in ninth place in 1981. The percussion was the highest scoring caption for the year, but Tom Float departed at the end of the 1981 season. At the end of 1982, the corps finished 12th place with the guard ranked 11th in their caption at DCI finals.
After two disappointing years competitively, in 1983 the corps rallied to a seventh-place finish behind the new visual staff of Sal Salas, Scott Chandler and Tam Easterwood along with longtime marching instructor Brad Carraway.
In 1984 the Spirit drumline under Mike Back made a run at the high percussion title as they were the "host corps" for the 1984 World Championships.
The 1985 corps saw Tam Easterwood and Scott Chandler's colorguard win the guard trophy, a feat they would repeat in 1987.
In 1986, the tenth competitive season of the corps, the "throwback" show of Southern blues, jazz and gospel earned them a sixth-place finish and an all-time high score for Spirit of Atlanta of 94.1 at the DCI Championships.
In 1988, after a disappointing competitive end to the 1987 season, a decision was made to turn away from jazz and blues to the classical idiom. Although the corps' competitive placement improved from tenth to ninth place and scored in the 92's just weeks prior to finals, the classical show based on Stravinsky's "Petrushka" was panned by drum corps fans used to the high-powered brass and exciting shows for which Spirit had become known.
In 1989, Spirit dropped from finals for the first time since 1978.

1990s

In 1990 Spirit of Atlanta regained Finalist status, but their success would not last long. Financial and management challenges plagued the corps. From 1991 to 1993 the corps' competitive status declined. The financial problems culminated leading into the 1994 season, when the corps announced it would be inactive that summer.
The corps returned to the field in 1995, and began a long rebuilding process. These years would prove challenging, but saw some increased success as the corps progressed from 23rd place in 1996 to a regained semi-finalist status in 1997, and peaking at 14th place in 1998. The corps changed uniforms along the way to a navy blue top with cream pants.
Financial challenges would continue to hound the corps leading into the 2000 season, which saw a mid-summer management turnover and a difficult touring year. Nonetheless, the corps finished 15th, and a majority of the membership from that season would continue with the corps over the next 4 years.

2000s

In 2000, while the corps was rehearsing at JSU just prior to the start of tour, the corps director attempted to fold the drum corps. Due to a very strong response by corps alumni, parents, staff and other members of the drum corps community Spirit of Atlanta got through the season, finishing in fifteenth place at DCI Finals in College Park, Maryland. Following the management challenges of the 2000 season, Spirit of Atlanta re-organized in preparation for the summer of 2001. It officially relocated to Jacksonville, Alabama, and officially became known as "Spirit, from Jacksonville State University". This relationship with the university provided a foundation of stability the corps had not experienced for more than a decade. The 2001 season saw a significantly more competitive drum corps finishing in 13th place while wearing baby blue uniforms again. In 2002, Spirit regained finalist status for the first time since 1990 finishing 10th overall - the highest placement since 1988. Spirit of JSU would make DCI Finals again in 2003 and '05-07. Going into the 2008 season the association with Jacksonville State University was essentially dissolved, resulting in a simplification of the corps' name to "Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps from Jacksonville, AL". The corps continued to operate out of Jacksonville, AL for the 2009 season.

2010s and Return to Atlanta

In 2010, the corps surprised the drum corps community by announcing its return to Atlanta. After the 2010 season, it was announced by the corps' Board of Directors that for the 2011 season, the corps would once again be known as "Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps." Spirit of Atlanta surged back into finals again in 2011, jumping from 16th place the preceding season to 12th at DCI Finals.

Sponsorship

The Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps is sponsored by Friends of Spirit Inc., a nonprofit 501 organization that has a Board of Directors, corps director, and staff assigned to carry out the organization's mission. The Board President is George Dickinson, and the Corps Director is Chris Moore.

Show Summary (1977–2020)

Source:
Gold background indicates DCI Championship; pale blue background indicates DCI Class Finalist; pale green background indicates DCI semifinalist.
YearThemeRepertoireScorePlacement
1977Carnival Overture by Antonín Dvořák / Music by John Miles /
Woman in the Moon by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams / Love the Feeling by Chuck Mangione		76.3523rd
1978Walk Him Up the Stairs by Gary Geld and Peter Udell /
Higher and Higher by Billy Davis and Raynard Miner with Gary Jackson and Carl Smith /
Geodesic Dances by Wendy Carlos / Let It Be Me by Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, and Pierre Delanoë		86.506th
1979Georgia on My Mind by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell / Nutville by Horace Silver /
Geodesic Dances by Wendy Carlos / Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, and Kenneth Casey /
Let It Be Me by Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, and Pierre Delanoë		89.904th
1980Georgia on My Mind by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell /
Ol' Man River by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II /
Devil Went Down to Georgia by Vassar Clements, Charlie Daniels,
Tom Crain, "Taz" DiGregorio, Fred Edwards, Charles Hayward, and James W. Marshall /
Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, and Kenneth Casey /
Let It Be Me by Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, and Pierre Delanoë		89.804th
1981Georgia on My Mind by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell /
Ol' Man River by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II /
Devil Went Down to Georgia by Vassar Clements, Charlie Daniels,
Tom Crain, "Taz" DiGregorio, Fred Edwards, Charles Hayward, and James W. Marshall /
You Are the Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder / Let It Be Me by Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, and Pierre Delanoë		83.859th
1982You are My Sunshine © by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell, probably written by Oliver Hood /
Oh Happy Day by Gene De Paul and Johnny Mercer /
You Are the Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder /
Blue Rondo A La Turk by Dave Brubeck / We Are the Reason by David Meece		81.6512th
1983Los Hermanos De Bop by Mark Taylor / Blues in the Night by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer /
No One Together by Kerry Livgren / We Are the Reason by David Meece		83.607th
1984Porgy and Bess OvertureThere's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York & It Ain't Necessarily So by George Gershwin93.16th
1985Piano Concerto in F by George Gershwin91.007th
1986Dixie © by Daniel Decatur Emmett / That Cat is High by J. Mayo Williams /
Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, and Kenneth Casey / High On A Hill by Kerry Livgren /
Precious Lord, Take My Hand by George Nelson Allen and Thomas A. Dorsey /
Maybe God Is Tryin' To Tell You Somethin' by Andraé Crouch and Quincy Jones		94.106th
1987Are You From Dixie by George L. Cobb and Jack Yellen /
Southern Medley including Dixie copyright by Daniel Decatur Emmett, Old Folks at Home by Stephen Foster,
& When the Saints Go Marching In by Virgil Oliver Stamps and Luther G. Presley /
Basin Street Blues by Spencer Williams / Ragtime / Amazing Grace William Walker and John Newton		87.6010th
1988PetrouchkaPetrouchka by Igor Stravinsky89.309th
1989Interstellar Suite by Amin Bhatia82.2014th
1990Selections from Gone with the Wind by Max Steiner / Motherless Child Blues by Robert "Barbecue Bob" Hicks /
African Drum Solo by Quincy Jones /
Precious Lord, Take My Hand by George Nelson Allen and Thomas A. Dorsey /
Maybe God Is Tryin' to Tell You Somethin' by Andraé Crouch and Quincy Jones		83.4011th
1991Call to Arms by James Horner / Variations on Dixie by Morton Gould /
Antietam & Glory by James Horner /
American Salute by Morton Gould / Closing Credits by James Horner		82.3515th
1992Songs of the New SouthOl' Man River & Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II /
Miss Otis Regrets by Cole Porter / For the Beauty of the Earth by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint		78.8016th
1993A Soulful CelebrationWhy do the Nations so Furiously Rage? by George Frederick Handel / David and Goliath /
Do Not Pass Me By by William H. Doane and Frances J. Crosby / So Much 2 Say by Cedric Dent and Mervyn Warren /
Let the Words / Better Watch Your Behavior by Gary Hines		77.9017th
1994Corps Inactive------
1995All on a Southern AfternoonGhost Train & XMas in Hooverville by Thomas Newman / Didn't it Rain? /
Georgia on My Mind by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell		72.1020th
1996By George... It's GershwinRhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin68.0023rd
1997Southern Jazz - Spirit StyleGeorgia on My Mind by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell / Ol' Man River by Jerome Kern /
Amazing Grace by William Walker and John Newton /
Walk Him Up the Stairs by Gary Geld and Peter Udell /
Let It Be Me by Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, and Pierre Delanoë		76.5017th
1998My Friend by Cy Coleman and Ira Gasman / Swanee River by Stephen Collins Foster /
Precious Lord, Take My Hand by George Nelson Allen and Thomas A. Dorsey /
Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, and Kenneth Casey /
Maybe God Is Tryin' to Tell You Somethin, by Andraé Crouch and Quincy Jones		83.1014th
1999Jump, Jive, Jazz and WailSince I Don't Have You by Jackie Taylor, James Beaumont, Janet Vogel, Joe VanScharnen, Wally Lester,
Joseph Rock, and Lennie Martin /
Nutville by Horace Silver / Hollywood Nocturne by Brian Setzer / Jump, Jive an' Wail by Louie Prima		76.9016th
2000Southern Harmonies...
Music for the New South		Jubilee & Movement 5 by Morton Gould /
Wonderous Love by Donald Grantham /
The Glory and The Grandeur by Russell Peck		80.6515th
2001Ghost TrainThe Ride, At the Station & The Motive Revolution by Eric Whitacre84.0513th
2002Darkness Into LightSymphonia Resurrectus by David Holsinger85.4510th
2003TIMETime After Time by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne / Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce /
Auld Lang Syne by and Robert Burns / Somewhere in Time by John Barry /
Whirr, Whirr, Whirr by Ralph Hultgren / October by Eric Whitacre /
Let It Be Me by Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, and Pierre Delanoë / Nutville by Horace Silver /
No Jive by Bob Mintzer / Appalachian Morning by Paul Halley		84.4012th
2004The Architecture of LifeMindscape by Richard Saucedo / Dreamscape: Sonoran Desert Holiday by Ron Nelson /
Soundscape / Urbanscape: On the Town by Leonard Bernstein / Urbanscape: Bizarro by Michael Daugherty		86.3013th
2005The Spirit of BroadwayGive My Regards to Broadway by George M. Cohan /
New York, New York by Leonard Bernstein /
On Broadway by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller /
They're Playing Our Song by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager /
Entre Act & Not While I'm Around by Stephen Sondheim /
Pie Jesu by Andrew Lloyd Webber / Luck Be A Lady by Frank Loesser /
No One Mourns the Wicked & Defying Gravity by Stephen Schwartz		86.07512th
2006Old, New, Borrowed,
and Blue		Old Man River by Jerome Kern / That Old Black Magic by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer /
The Notebook by Aaron Zigman / Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters by Greg Hopkins /
Blues in the Night by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer / Blue Shades by Frank Ticheli		84.82512th
2007GenesisFluttering Maple Leaves by Jun Nagao / Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap / New Century Dawn by David Gillingham84.5012th
2008Per-if-4-ryEquus by Eric Whitacre /
Corynorhinus & Myotis by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer /
The Sacrifice & The Heart Asks Pleasure First by Michael Nyman		83.17515th
2009Live…In Concert!Song for America, Carry On Wayward Son & Dust In The Wind by Kerry Livgren /
Journey from Mariabronn by Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh		80.4517th
2010Forging an IconPiano Concerto No. 1 by Keith Emerson / Symphony No. 5 in Bb Major by Sergei Prokofiev /
Prelude by Bernard Herrmann / Brooklyn Bridge by Michael Daugherty /
Serenada Schizophrana by Danny Elfman		81.4516th
2011ATL Confidential:
A Tribute to Film Noir		Death at the Olympic by Mark Isham / Love Theme by Jerry Goldsmith /
Harlem Nocturne by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers / Prelude by Bernard Herrmann		85.3512th
2012Sin CityMusic from the film Bullitt by Lalo Schifrin /Luck Be A Lady by Frank Loesser /
Harvest Concerto for Trombone by John Mackey /
Poker Face by Stefani Germanotta and Nadir Khayat /
Music from the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith by John Powell		84.4011th
2013SpeakeasyConcerto in F by George Gershwin / Crazy World by Henry Mancini / Overture by John Kander /
Solace by Scott Joplin / Songs for Simon by John Psathas /
Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, and Kenneth Casey / Symphony #1 by Paul Creston		86.4011th
2014MagnoliaDown to the River to Pray / Promised Land by George Gershwin /
Willow Weep for Me by Ann Ronell / Jubal Step by Wynton Marsalis /
I Need Thee Every Hour by Annie S. Hawks and Robert Lowry		81.55017th
2015Out of the AshesTara's Theme by Max Steiner / Southern Harmony by Donald Grantham /
Full Pull & Cage Match by Scott McAllister /
Wild Nights by John Adams / Original Music by William Pitts, Ben Pyles, and Greg Tsalikis		78.12518th
2016GeorgiaRusty Air in Carolina by Mason Bates /
Georgia by Thomas Calloway and Brian Burton /
Can't Help Falling in Love by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss /
Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, and Kenneth Casey/
Georgia on My Mind by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell		76.67521st
2017Crossroads:
We Are Here		Where Am I Going? by Gino Vannelli / Wine–Dark Sea by John Mackey /
Eric’s Song by Vienna Teng / Liquid Dance by A.R. Rahman /
Shofukan by Michael League 		80.07518th
2018KnockLIT by Timothy Henson, Scott LePage, Clay Gober, and Clay Aeschliman and Nick Sampson /
Freak Flag by Casanova Harry, Eddie Francis, and O.G. Spezzano /
Hurt by Trent Reznor / Rattletrap by Bill Evans /
Break on Through by Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robby Krieger 		85.58813th
2019Neon UndergroundIntro by Matt Filosa, John Cypert, & Chris Moore / Krump by Scott McAllister /
You and Me by Howard Lawrence, Guy Lawrence, James Napier, and Eliza Caird /
Attraction by Emmanuel Séjourné /
Color Wheel by Joey Izzo, Adam Rafowitz, Adam Bentley, Joe Calderone, and Richie Martinez 		85.58713th
2020Season cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Hall of Fame

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In 2016, Spirit of Atlanta created a Hall of Fame to honor their most important contributors throughout the corps' history. Founder Freddy Martin, along with his wife and long-time corps administrator Lynda Martin were the inaugural inductees into the Hall. In 2017, four honorees were inducted into the Hall as the first elected class.
Hall of Fame Members: