Ironically, there exist some individuals who have had a profound effect on the drum corps activity yet are generally unknown to many younger practitioners of the art. It’s the duty of the rest of us to pass along knowledge of their substantial contributions. That said, here’s a story about one of them, a man whose playing set a benchmark for performance on the bugle and whose style was emulated by everybody from Bucky Swan to Al Chez to Wayne Downey to the best soloist you heard at last year’s finals, whether they know it or not:

By the time I began marching with the St. Catherine's Queensmen in the early '60s, Riggie was already a star. We'd listened to his solos countless times on the Fleetwood and Stetson Richmond recordings of the Pittsburg Rockets, and vets like Bill Hightower would often speak of hearing his fluid technique and silky tone live on the field at the big shows.