Drumming Brigadier

One army that never stops fighting is The Salvation Army. Because the Army's hot-eyed, autocratic Founder William Booth once asked "Why should the devil have all the best tunes?" Army bandsmen have systematically robbed the devil by piecing soul-saving lyrics to rousing songs. Sample: There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight became Salvation Is the Best Thing in the World. This week ruddy, grey-mustached Brigadier Hubert Edward Burtenshaw of Chicago, dean of the Salvationists' 50,000 U. S. bandsmen, celebrated his 50th anniversary of drumming for the Lord.

Bandsman Burtenshaw dedicated himself to the drum when he was three. In June 1890, before he was eight, he joined a Salvationist band at England's breezy Channel resort, Brighton. In 1911, Founder Booth sent Brigadier Burtenshaw to the U. S. to organize other Army bands. From behind his drum he has led bands ever since, has a healthy contempt for cockatoo drum majors who simply strut.

Brigadier Burtenshaw's solos are more spectacular than Jazzdrummer Gene Krupa's. With his whole band massed behind him, the Brigadier twirls his drumsticks faster & faster, whirls them over his head, down to his ankles throughout the number. He can catch his sticks at any beat he wants, change pace with offbeat effects, shade his tone from a crash to a whisper.

At the Army's summer Band Camp at Antioch, Ill., Drummer Burtenshaw was awakened one morning this week by a serenade of his favorite band tunes. From then on it was Brigadier Burtenshaw Day. Highlight: a concert featuring his famed bass-drum solo to the Army tune, Carry On (he has given it 6,000 times, in every part of the U. S.). Said one critic: "It is the first time I have heard a drum played as a musical instrument." Said the Brigadier with pious pride: "Well, I guess I'm just about the best there is."

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