Blogger tells me that one of my more popular posts is on the various iterations of the Tin Pan Alley tune Red Wing. I keep my ears peeled for that melody... last month at Anson's Cowboy Christmas Ball, Michael Martin Murphey's fiddle player quoted it briefly in a short improv interlude between western swing songs. And I heard it again this morning during the Rose Bowl Parade. Luckily this time, I can give everyone video proof. Start this video around the 1:15 mark.
I did a little more searching and found that the Pulaski Marching Band (from Pulaski, Wisconsin) performed an extended version of Red Wing on their nightly news.
There's accordions in a marching band...?! , and is that some sort of German dancing at the beginning? I'm curious the song selection, the arrangement (especially the swing break-down towards the end), and the significance of the song for the group. In my experience, often performing certain songs and those traditions take on greater meaning for the band itself or the football team, and I wonder if that's the case here. For instance, my high school's football team requested the theme song from Magnificent Seven for their entrance into our stadium as to make their arrival sound more triumphant. And our band was incredibly partial to performing The GoGos "We Got the Beat," while dancing in the stands to stay warm/keep busy.
I have no answers in the end for the instrumentation, dancing, and arrangement. Really, I just wanted to share. And for now everything must remain enigmatic.... unless any Pulaski Marching Band persons happen to come across this post from a google search/alert. If so, please leave me a comment... let me know the story about your wonderful rendition of this endearing tune.
I could be wrong, but I'm guessing Pulaski High School would have a Polish tradition similar to the town of Pulaski and that would be a form of polka dancing.
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