Purdue Big Bass Drum
The drum can be seen at all Purdue home football games as well as parades, alumni rallies, the Indianapolis 500 Race, and many other special events.
In 1921, band director Paul Spotts Emrick commissioned the Leedy Manufacturing Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, to produce a massive bass drum.
After months of searching, Leedy's suppliers solved the first problem by finding steers weighing between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds each, which are said to have been from Argentina.
[3] These large heads put a great strain on the shell, requiring special reinforcement rods to be designed.
[4] While other marching bands had tried having two people work together to move their large drums along the football field, Emrick and Leedy decided to use a wheeled carriage.
After contacting Jesse Lemon of the New York Central Railroad, Emrick was able to find a baggage car with a door large enough to accommodate the Monster.
[3] The Purdue Drum's first football game was at the University of Chicago, whose band members immediately contacted C.G.
In 1939, Chicago disbanded its football program and the drum was placed in storage, allegedly becoming irradiated as a result of studies relating to the Manhattan Project.
By the time Al Wright became Purdue's director of bands in 1954, the Big Bass Drum had been neglected after years of damage in storage.
Subsequently, on October 15, 2022, Texas retired Big Bertha in its 100th year of service and introduced Big Bertha II as the largest bass drum in the world at 9.5 feet (2.9 m) in diameter and 55 inches (1,400 mm) in depth during halftime of their game against Iowa State at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
[1][5][7] The drum has also gained national attention on several occasions, such as when it has been stolen, usually by students from Notre Dame or Big Ten rival Indiana University.
The band honored its legacy by featuring it and its crew during a halftime show against the University of Minnesota in October.
Other signatures include astronauts Gus Grissom and Neil Armstrong as well as Snoop Dogg and the Kodo Drummers of Japan.
