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Overcast A ‘bully’ band celebrates T.R. with a third CD
The life of Theodore Roosevelt, the proverbial “first son” of Oyster Bay, has inspired generations of writers, artists and historians in the little over a century since his death in 1919. One group which has dedicated nearly four decades to extolling the life of one of the country’s greatest presidents is the Sagamore Hill Band & Roosevelt Songbirds, who will be celebrating their third CD release on Oct. 27 at the Oyster Bay Historical Society.
The core concept of the Sagamore Hill Band was first formed back in 1983 by composer and former music teacher Stephen Walker, a life-long resident of Oyster Bay. Walker claims he developed his interest in Roosevelt from his father, who had raised him on stories about the president.
Their music is a mixture of period pieces from Roosevelt’s lifetime, songs about Roosevelt, and original pieces written by the band. Walker mentioned that some of the songs also focus on the lives of Roosevelt’s children and places he visited or impacted.
“The music is specific to Theodore Roosevelt, having to do with things like the treaty of Portsmouth, where he won a Nobel Prize for Peace in 1905 for the treaty which settled the Russo-Japanese War,” Walker said. “Several songs alternate between vocal music and instrumental music.”
As a band teacher at the Oyster Bay Central School District, Walker was curious if there was any music associated with Roosevelt that he could incorporate into his lessons. After talking to then-director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association John Gable, Walker headed to Harvard University where he saw their Roosevelt Collection, which included three boxes of sheet music.
The band, made up of professional local musicians, had its first concert, titled “Teddy, You’re a Bear,” on Oct. 22, 1988, in the Oyster Bay High School auditorium, where they were joined by the school choir and even the late-great James Foote, who was known for portraying Roosevelt. Since then, they have only had two concerts, although they have performed dozens of times, most notably at Sagamore Hill itself for many Fourth of July celebrations.
Their most recent concert, “ROOSEVELT! We’re Glad to Welcome You” was recorded live on Oct. 5, 2019 and pays tribute to many of the locations important to the life of Theodore Roosevelt, from New York City to Panama.
The concert recording also preserves the final public speech of Foote’s life as Roosevelt, who portrayed the iconic president at school, on holidays and at Oyster Bay events for more than 30 years.
Howard Ehrlich, executive director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, has seen the band play numerous times at Sagamore Hill over the years, and praised Walker and the group for their musical talent and commitment to honoring the memory of the larger-than-life president.
“When they perform, they perform very well, and their band members are usually locals, which is nice,” Ehrlich said. “They try to get the old spirit of that time period, you know, playing the music from the turn-of-the-century.”
Although Jonathan Parker, superintendent of Sagamore Hill Historic Site since 2020, has never had the opportunity to see them play live, he said he appreciates their history of performing at Roosevelt’s old home, although the band is not officially affiliated with them. He particularly praised their efforts performing at Sagamore Hill’s Fourth of July events, where their style of music is fitting.
“Music is a really valuable part of the event that resonates with visitors through patriotic and historic tunes, and it’s part of the celebration of the day,” Parker said. “So while I wasn’t here for those previous performances, I know the public valued them and having music as a component is an important part of the event.”
