Cities Service Band Of America and Marching Music

"Forty-eight states… 48 stars… 48 men marching down

the Main Street of everybody's hometown!

Here comes the Cities Service Band of America,

conducted by Paul Lavalle!"

Cities Service Band Of America formed in 1910 to supply gas and electricity to small public utility companies, and soon branched out into gas pipelines throughout the middle of the continent and the southwest. The company, led by founder Henry Latham Doherty, expanded into oil production, and is responsible for finding the Oklahoma City Field, one of the largest in the world.

Like many large businesses, Cities Service found old time radio to be a marvelous tool for advertising and public relations. The Cities Service Concerts were a staple of NBC's weekly lineup beginning in 1925. Through the years several musical formats were used, including orchestral, vocals, and popular. In 1944 marching band music was settled on with the hiring of band leader Paul Lavalle and the show changed its name to Highways of Melody. In 1948 the show was retitled again to Cities Service Band Of America, and Lavalle was kept on as conductor.

It is hard ot to feel inspired by the intro to the Cities Service Band Of America from Old Radio Cat