Mr. Wm. J. Bell, Sousaphone Soloist

The legendary tubist Bill Bell joined Sousa's Band in 1921, when he was a mere 18 years old. But man, could that guy play a mean Sousaphone! For the four years that Bell was in the band, Sousa occasionally featured the youngster as a soloist. Here he is in 1921, and below that are the pages from a couple of Willow Grove programs that list Bell as soloist, playing "The Mighty Deep" by William Herbert Jude:

While I couldn't locate a recording of "The Mighty Deep" featuring the tuba, here is the vocal version, to give you a feel for how the piece would have sounded when Bell played it on his Sousaphone. Enjoy!