Sonic Boom of the South

The Sonic Boom of the South is a nationally recognized marching band from Jackson State University(JSU) in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCU marching bands in the United States with over 300 members. It is also known as "Hollywood's band of choice".

History

The first band at JSU was organized in 1920. The band was given the nickname “The Sonic Boom of the South” by band director Harold J. Haughton, Sr. in 1971. In 1971, the majorettes abandoned their batons and became a dance team known as the "'Prancing J-Settes"', also named by Haughton. In 1974, “Get Ready,” an old Motown favorite was selected as the band’s theme song. Also, during the mid-1970s, the precision in motion “Tiger Run-On” was perfected. Created by Haughton, the “Tiger Run-On” is a fast, eye-catching shuffle step that blends an adagio step with an up-tempo shuffle (200 steps per minute), then back to adagio—a “Sonic Boom” trademark that brings fans to their feet during halftime performances. Oct 1990, Under the direction of Dowell Taylor and staff, The Sonic Boom of the South performed in Los Angeles, California for Motown 30-What's Going on. This was the event that set the wheels in motion for the national attention of the Sonic Boom. In 2003, the marching band was in enshrined in the NCAA Hall of Champions. Also, the marching band was filmed by Electronic Art Sports (EA Sports) for inclusion in the 2005 version of the video game "EA Sports NCAA Football 2005".^[1]

The Sonic Boom is led by five drum majors often collectively referred to as the "J-5".

References

External links

• Official site