John Philip Sousa for Monty Python's Flying Circus), "The Thunderer" and "The Washington Post". Sousa began his career playing violin and studying music theory and composition under John Esputa and George Felix Benkert. His father enlisted him in the United States Marine Band as an apprentice in 1868. After departing the band in 1875, Sousa learned to conduct. From 1880 until his death, he focused exclusively on conducting and the writing of music. He eventually rejoined the Marine Band and served there for 12 years as director. On leaving the Marine Band, Sousa organized his own band. Sousa aided in the development of
King Cotton (march) King Cotton (march) King Cotton is a military march composed in 1895 by John Philip Sousa, for the Cotton States and International Exposition (1895). The expression "King Cotton" in general refers to the historically high importance of cotton as a cash crop in the southern United States. The form is as follows; the number of bars is indicated in the parentheses. Intro(4)|:A(16):||:B(16):||:Trio(16)Break(16)Trio/Grandioso-2nd time(16):| The tune is often included in compilations of Sousa's works. It was also included in the musical soundtrack (though not the soundtrack album) as carousel music in the 1973 film, "The Sting". The tune is also featured