"Seventy-Six Trombones" is the signature song from the 1957 musical play The Music Man, written by Meredith Willson. The song also appeared in the 1962 and 2003 movie versions. 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Music Man is a musical play with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson (story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey), which opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on December 19, 1957. ... Robert Meredith Willson (18 May 1902 - 15 June 1984) was an American composer and playwright, best known as the writer of The Music Man. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Seventy-six trombones led the big parade,

With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand ...

'Professor' Harold Hill uses the song to help the townspeople of 'River City' visualize their children playing in an enormous marching band. An average-sized high-school marching band might have 10 musicians playing the trombone, and a large university band seldom has more than 30. The band that Harold is describing includes 76 trombones, 110 cornets, "over a thousand reeds," and "fifty mounted cannon" (actually quite popular in bands of the time); if such a band actually existed, it would be over a mile long. The Ohio State University Marching Band, nicknamed The Best Damn Band in the Land, performing its famous ramp entry into Ohio Stadium at the beginning of a football game. ... A lip-reed aerophone with a predominantly cylindrical bore, the trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... Bâ™­ cornet The cornet is a brass instrument that closely resembles the trumpet. ... A small Civil War-era cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ...