Arts

Hit Play: Albums from the Trojan Marching Band

Take a musical tour of the Spirit of Troy’s discography.

August 29, 2016 Alicia Di Rado

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Long bombs to the end zone. Epic Rose Bowl wins. For as long as USC has fielded a football team, fans have loved reliving the team’s great moments. And Tom Kelly, the “voice of USC sports,” laid the soundtrack for USC football prominence for more than four decades. Today, play calls from the legendary broadcaster, who died in June, remain memorialized on vinyl records like this one from 1964.

But USC’s recorded football nostalgia spans more than just touchdowns and interceptions. It seeps through decades of sound from the Trojan Marching Band. Throughout the group’s history, the Spirit of Troy has released 15 of its own albums—many featuring its football fanfares and game-day cheers—and collaborated with some well-known musical acts on several pop recordings. Those trumpets and drums should get you in a game-day mood.