"The Billboard March" is a

circus march A screamer is a circus march intended to stir up the audience during the show. History Screamers were mostly composed in a 60-year period (1895–1955). Circuses were in need of music that would stir the audience into a frenzy, as four-fo ...

written in 1901 by John N. Klohr, and dedicated to the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' music-industry magazine. Its tune is widely known among Americans, and it has been repeatedly used in

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

, even though its title is little known. The major theme of its last half lends itself to songs. A relatively early "

G-rated The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...

" set of lyrics for it was heard from engineers who had been students at Capitol Radio Electronics Institute by

Willard Scott Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC br ...

and Ed Walker, the stars of what became '' The Joy Boys'' radio program at WRC-AM in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in the 1950s. They recorded it in two versions (a duet between them, and Walker singing in four-part harmony with himself), for use as, respectively, the opening and closing themes for the show:Where did the theme music come from?
/ref> : We are the joy boys of radio; : We chase electrons to and fro-o-o. : We are the joy boys of radio; : We chase electrons to and fro. That version was adapted into one sung and whistled by the drugged

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 1964 film ''

Ensign Pulver ''Ensign Pulver'' is a 1964 American Technicolor comedy drama film in Panavision and a sequel to the 1955 film '' Mister Roberts''. The film stars Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, Walter Matthau and Tommy Sands and features Millie Perkins, Larry H ...

''. The march was used over the main title credits in the film Everything's Rosie (1931 RKO film). The 2004 film ''

The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife, and young mother who suspects that something in the town of Stepford is changing the wives fro ...

'' used the march. The tune is a popular campfire song for children in summer camps, set as a knock-knock joke, and using the lyrics: "Bring back the billboard, upon the hill. Because that billboard gave me such a thrill. When I was younger, and just a child, that sexy billboard drove me wi-i-ld" The same song tune is used for a group of rowdy songs that share the line : I love a

gang bang A gang bang is a sexual activity in which one person is the central focus of the sexual activity of several people, usually more than three, sequentially or simultaneously. The term generally refers to a woman being the focus; one man with ...

r "gangbang"followed by a line beginning either "I always ..." or "Oh yes I ...". Songs
at Winona State University Men's Rugby Club

References

External links

Burl Ives's rendition
from ''

''
John Klohr - The Billboard March
��50-sec. stereo of best known theme, in Belwin Beginning Band Series arrangement {{DEFAULTSORT:Billboard March March music 1901 compositions