1974

The Wheaton Pageant of Drums, traditionally held in the afternoon on the 4th of July, moved to the night of July 3rd in 1975. My brother Jim Scheffler was back recording the Wheaton show with new professional reel to reel equipment. Jim was 18 years old, and he was done marching in drum corps.

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The Guardsmen from Schaumburg, Illinois were the first corps to take the field. I hadn't seen the Guardsmen since the 1971 Wheaton show, when they finished in last place, so I wasn't expecting much from them, but they really surprised me as I watched their entertaining 1975 show. 

Bill Harty and Jim Campbell, longtime marching members through 1974, joined Mike Remelli on the Guardsmen instructional staff in 1975. This corps was the nucleus of the 1976 Guardsmen that would go on to make DCI Finals in Philadelphia the following year. On this 1975 recording, you can hear rolling thunder in the distance at the beginning of a wildly entertaining Final Analysis, the concert number that would be one of the highlights of their 1976 show.

The Guardsmen finished in third place at this 1975 Wheaton show.

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The Bleu Raeders' domination of the Wheaton Pageant of Drums came to an end in 1975, after winning the show the previous three years. The merger with the Stardusters broke up after the 1974 season. Many longtime Bleu Raeders members left the corps, a lot of them joining the Blue Stars, where former Bleu Raeders director Moe Latour was a staff member. The once great Bleu Raeders drumline was smaller in 1975, with young guys playing snare drum who had been cymbal players in 1974. The defending champions performed last at this 1975 Wheaton show, but the Bleu Raeders could only manage a fourth place finish, out of five corps, and got beat by the Guardsmen for the first time. At the 1975 DCI prelims later that summer, the Bleu Raeders finished 35th, just behind the Guardsmen, who finished 31st.

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The Blue Stars easily won this 1975 Wheaton show, though it was raining during their performance. After a disappointing 12th place finish at the 1974 DCI finals, the Blue Stars had a massively improved drumline in 1975, featuring several great drummers who had spent years with the Bleu Raeders. The Blue Stars went on to finish in 5th place at the 1975 DCI finals in Philadelphia later that summer. They were the best corps to compete in the Wheaton show since the 1970 Troopers, who had won the VFW national championship that year.

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