Alton Augustus Adams (b. 1889, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Danish West Indies - d. 1987, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) is remembered primarily as the first black bandmaster in the United States Navy (beginning 1917). He contributed to a number of music magazines, including The Etude and The Metronome, and had a regular column, "The Band," in Jacobs' Band Monthly. Adams volunteered as the coordinator of the music programs for the Virgin Islands public schools and wrote its first music curricula. As a journalist, he contributed to the Pittsburgh Courier and he edited the St. Thomas Bulletin. During World War II, he took charge of the Navy's first racially integrated bands, first in Cuba, then in St. Thomas, and finally in Puerto Rico. As proprietor of the Adams 1799 Guest House on St. Thomas after World War II, he was elected president of the Virgin Islands Hotel Association. 1889 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Charlotte Amalie is the capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States of America. ... St. ... The Danish West Indies (DWI) are a former colony of Denmark in the Caribbean, now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Military Band marching A military band is a group of soldiers assigned to musical duties. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues and people. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ...

Adams's music is in the style of John Philip Sousa and communicates energy along with a core patriotism. His best known works include the "Virgin Islands March" (1919), "The Governor's Own" (1921), and "The Spirit of the U.S.N." (1924), dedicated to President Calvin Coolidge. His United States Navy Band of the Virgin Islands made a triumphant tour of the Eastern seaboard in 1924, visiting Norfolk, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Unfortunately, this trip would be the apex of the band's success. It never again enjoyed the notoriety on the U. S. mainland that its parades in Harlem generated. John Philip de Sousa John Philip Sousa or John Philip de Sousa (November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932), popularly known as The March King, is probably the most famous conductor and composer in history of military marches. ... John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. ... Harlem is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, long known as a major African American cultural and business center. ...