Didn't We Ramble On: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A documentary film with the title Didn't We Ramble On. Directed by Billy Jackson, the documentary explores the tradition of marching bands in African American culture. It focuses particularly on the historical roots of marching bands in West African culture and features narration by Dizzy Gillespie. It consists of a single reel of color 16mm acetate film with optical sound.

The film begins with shots of a marching band at a stadium intercut with shots of various forms of unidentified West African musical and dance traditions. Narration by Dizzy Gillespie begins near the end of the intercut shots. He describes the passing down of memory and tradition through music and dance. As he describes how this "spirit" survives, shots of a New Orleans second line parade are shown. Next, the title cards appear. Gillespie then appears in a head and shoulders shot speaking directly to the camera. He discusses how "amazing" it is to watch a New Orleans second line band or the Florida A&M marching band participate in a ritual that stretches back 700 years. This is followed by non-diegetic narration over shots of maps of West Africa and etchings of Yoruba funeral processions. Gillespie describes how the roots of marching bands can be found in these funeral processions, which featured music and masquerading dancers. As Gillespie's narration continues, further shots of unidentified West African musical and dance traditions are shown.

His narration goes on to describe how the marching band tradition was adopted by Europeans beginning in the 17th century. He mentions in particular that Napoleon required that the head of his marching band be attired in a manner similar to the way West African marching band leaders dressed. Over shots of historical lithographs depicting marching band members with dark skin, Gillespie describes how marching bands spread to every European culture and were eventually brought to the Americas. He mentions that African Americans participated in the drum and fife units during the American Revolutionary War. The narration continues with a history of bands composed of freedmen who performed around the United States and participated in marching bands during the Civil War. Photographs of these bands are shown during this sequence. Gillespie then discusses African American marching bands during World War I and the influence of James Reese Europe, in particular. This is followed by exegesis on marching bands during World War II and how they were not aware of the West African roots of their music. The narration ends and the film cuts to black.

The next section of the film begins with shots of the Florida A&M University marching band taking the field at a football stadium. Gillespie's narration explains how the marching band has incorporated modern influences, such as jazz, into the marching band tradition, but that the connection to West African traditions remains as well. The film then transitions to the role played by African American fraternal orders in furthering the marching band tradition. The focus is then placed on the New Orleans second line tradition and Gillespie introduces Danny Barker. Barker appears on-screen and in non-diegetic narration to describe how second line fits into a global culture of accompanying the funeral processions of noted dignitaries with martial music. He states that the difference in New Orleans is that everyone, no matter how poor, receives this honor and that they play jazz instead. As shots of a funeral procession are shown, Gillespie describes how marching bands are just one of many African traditions that have survived for hundreds of years. He goes on to talk about how the musical funeral processions in New Orleans help to pass on culture to younger generations of African Americans who witness and participate in the processions; this concludes the film.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1989
• Directed by: Billy Jackson, American
• Subject of: Dizzy Gillespie, American, 1917 - 1993
• Subject of: James Reese Europe, American, 1881 - 1919
• Subject of: Florida A&M University, American, founded 1887
• Subject of: Danny Barker, American, 1909 - 1994
• Owned by: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: short subjects
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration: 14 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 500 Feet
• Place depicted: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: West Africa, Africa
• Place depicted: Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Folklife
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Object number: 2017.55.19.1a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.