Marching Illini Songs

Many U. of I. Songs are written for the Marching Illini, the fierce competitve marching band that has been rallying and entertaining football games since 1868.

The Illinois Loyalty Song: We're Loyal to You, Illinois

This song celebrating the Marching Illini was first performed in 1906. Thanks to its catchy tune and infectious beat, it has now been adopted as a school song by high schools and universities across the nation. While no longer the U. of I.'s fighting song (because of its length, it was replaced by the familiar "Oskee Wow-Wow"), the song remains a point of pride for Illini everywhere.

The first performance of this song took place at former Illini Band director A. Austin Harding's First Anniversary Concert in 1906. The concert took place in the Armory (later known as the Gym Annex) and the piece was played out from T.H. Guild's original manuscript. At this time, colleges and universities across the United States were embracing the idea of campus culture and school pride, and this song is considered to have been the first "bleacher song" in the country, created to energize the crowds at sporting events while simultaneously embodying a certain pride and even regality surrounding college living. ""Illinois Loyalty" was, in fact, an idealization of the best and finest of campus traditions. It summarized the depths of feeling which both students on campus and graying alumni felt -- and feel -- for their beloved campus... There came, with "Illinois Loyalty", a new conception of college and University life... There developed a much deeper realization of the beauty of campus living." (Burford 1952, 121-123)

For more about this song, scroll down to Collections Featuring these Songs, or click on the Resources for Further Research page on the left hand navigation.

Oskee-Wow-Wow

Originally written by two University of Illinois students, Howard Green and Harold Hill, "Oskee Wow Wow" has been adopted by the U. of I. as its official fight song. The original fight song (Illinois Loyalty), while beautiful and profound, wasn't effectively rousing crowds during school sporting events, so Green and Hill composed a new song to revive the Illini spirit of the crowd. Commonly played after first downs and touchdowns in football games and leading into timeouts during basketball games, the song remains recognizable and loved by University of Illinois alumni everywhere.

For more about this song, scroll down to Collections Featuring these Songs, or click on the Resources for Further Research page on the left hand navigation.

Hail to the Orange

When Green and Hill first tried to sell their songs to the U. of I. Supply Store, they managed to sell "Oskee-Wow-Wow" for $100. Meanwhile, "Hail to the Orange" failed to impress the supply store manager at the time, and so Green and Hill decided to pivot and instead sold "Hail to the Purple" to Billy LeVere, the national secretary of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE). However, they also taught their original song to the glee club at Illinois, and from there its local popularity grew. Now, this song is part of the Three-In-One, the traditional half-time performance of the Marching Illini. This tradition has audience members sing and sway to the rousing music of “The Pride of the Illini,” “The March of the Illini” and “Hail to the Orange.” In addition, the lyrics to "Hail to the Orange" are even posted along the side of the road on the southbound side of US-45!

For more about this song, scroll down to Collections Featuring these Songs, or click on the Resources for Further Research page on the left hand navigation.

Cheer Illini

Green and Hill composed "Cheer Illini" in 1911, around the same time as the now-beloved "Illinois Loyalty". Hill had already graduated, but Green was still a student, so he wrote the words and the melody and then mailed them off to Hill to create the musical arrangement. They were able to sell their final song to the U. of I. Supply Store for $200.

For more about this song, scroll down to Collections Featuring these Songs, or click on the Resources for Further Research page on the left hand navigation.