1973 Drum Corps Recordings

The Bleu Raeders won the Wheaton July 4th Pageant of Drums again in 1973 with a score of 67.30, narrowly beating the Royal Crusaders by two tenths of a points.

Right after he recorded the Wheaton show on the 4th of July, my drum corps obsessed brother Jim joined the Bleu Raeders, playing baritone bugle for the rest of the season. Our family traveled to Whitewater, Wisconsin in August to see Jim and the Bleu Raeders compete in the 1973 DCI Prelims, hoping to place in the top 12 again and perform in the DCI finals. Finishing a disappointing 21st place in prelims, the Bleu Raeders did manage to beat a young corps from Concord, California who were competing in their very first DCI Prelims, the Blue Devils, who finished 24th in 1973.

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The Royal Crusaders placed second at the Wheaton show with a score of 67.10. Later that summer, they placed 16th at the 1973 DCI Prelims in Whitewater, and in 1974 they tied the Bleu Raeders for 17th place at the DCI Prelims. In 1975 the Royal Crusaders finished 9th in the DCI Finals in Philadelphia.

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The Colt 45 from Dubuque, Iowa finished 3rd in Wheaton with a score of 58.30. Years later they changed their name to The Colts, continued to improve over the decades, and are a frequent DCI Finalist in the 21st century.

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The Sky Ryders from Hutchinson, Kansas finished 4th with a score of 53.90. They would be back in Wheaton in 1974.

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The Etobicoke Crusaders from Canada, led by a very young female drum major, finished 5th with a score of 52.60. They would be back in Wheaton in 1974 with a really good drumline.

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The Fox Valley Raiders performed in exhibition at the 1973 Wheaton show.

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