1974 Drum Corps Recordings
July 4, 1974 Wheaton, Illinois
The Viscounts - McHenry, IL
The Marion Cadets - Marion, OH
The Sky Ryders - Hutchinson, KS
The Etobicoke Crusaders - Etobicoke, Ontario
The Regiment Militaire (Bleu Raeders) - New Orleans, LA
1974 DCI Prelims - Ithaca, NY
The Regiment Militaire (Bleu Raeders) - New Orleans, LA
The Black Knights - Belleville, IL
My brother Jim marched the 1974 season in the Bleu Raeders hornline, and our family traveled with the corps for much of the season. Jim's friend recorded the 1974 Wheaton Pageant of Drums, since Jim was busy playing baritone bugle that day.
After failing to make DCI finals in 1973, the Bleu Raeders merged back with the Stardusters in 1974 and renamed the corps the Regiment Militaire. They won this July 4th Wheaton show with a score of 77.00, their highest score of the season.
My family traveled across the country with the Regiment Militaire for the rest of the season. At DCI shows, they were announced as the Bleu Raeders, because they had booked those shows as the Bleu Raeders before the merger, and they were still collecting DCI member performance fees after making finals in 1972.
All season long, the Regiment Militaire battled for a spot in the top 12 against their arch rivals the Black Knights and several other potential DCI finalists. The Black Knights beat the Regiment Militaire every time. But the Phantom Regiment kept beating both of them.
In August I watched the Regiment Militaire perform in the 1974 DCI prelims in Ithaca, New York. They made a few too many ticks here and there, and scored 75.75, unable to top their Wheaton 4th of July score. They finished in a tie for 17th place with the Royal Crusaders. The Black Knights finished 15th, also out of the finals. After that, my brother Jim was done marching in drum corps.
The Etobicoke Crusaders from Canada were back in Wheaton in 1974, with a really good drumline and a female drum major. Their Toronto area rivals, the Delasalle Oaklands, had a great hornline that powered them into the 1974 DCI finals. But the college that sponsored the Delasalle Oaklands dropped them after the 1974 season, putting the corps out of business. So the Delasalle Oaklands, with their great hornline, merged with the Etobicoke Crusaders and their really good drumline. Renamed the Oakland Crusaders, they placed 6th in the 1975 DCI Finals.
The Sky Ryders, from Hutchinson, Kansas, were back in Wheaton in 1974. They continued to improve throughout the 1970s. In the early 1980s they fielded a great hornline and made DCI Finals for the first time in 1982.