Louisiana Southernaires

The group was formed April 15, 1981, and was competitive immediately. They began the season with a tour into the Midwest, placing second in most of the smaller contests. This was much more than the instructional staff had expected, since the corps had only rehearsed for a couple of months.

The next tour followed the Drum Corps South circuit, of which the Southernaires were charter members, which wound up in Lafayette, Louisiana, at DSC Championships. An A Class corps, the Kenner group came in fourth against several Open Class corps, showing that they were getting stronger with each passing contest.

Their show on this tour, presented by a small but strong horn line and several soloists, featured a New Orleans jazz repertoire that entertained spectators and judges alike. The percussion and color guard were equally solid.

The longest tour of the 1981 season took the corps to the U.S. Open and the American Internationals, in both of which the corps finished second in Class A. In the World Open at Lynn, Massachusetts, they took the Class A Championship. And in Montreal at the DCI Championships, the Southernaires was named "The Cinderella Corps” when they captured the Class A Championship, with a score of 69.25, against 39 competitors. The Southernaires won the respect of the drum corps world, and their home state, in this triumphal inaugural season.

In 1982, the corps competed in DCI Open Class, finishing 42nd in Preliminaries.

The Louisiana Southernaires was the only corps in the state of Louisiana during their active period of 1981 to 1983. Its membership came primarily from the greater New Orleans area, but a couple of marchers came from as far away as Texas.

[Karen Willingham, adapted from July 24, 1982, program for Southern Classic, Chalmette, LA]

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