Barnum and Bailey's Favorite

Karl King's best-known composition has to be Barnum and Bailey's Favorite. This march has the power to conjure up the whole magnificent scene of the old tent circus -- all the aromas, all the sounds, all the sights, and, of course, the circus band. King wrote this march for the thirty-two-piece Barnum and Bailey Circus Band in 1913 at the request of the director. King was twenty-two at the time and was preparing to join the band as a euphonium player. The euphonium can be heard in a rousing countermelody. His use of the word 'favorite' in the title proved quite appropriate, as a 1980 international music survey ranked this march fourth in the top 140 marches.