Some of the best stories about the band involve the University's storied rivalry with Yale. In the mid-1980s, the band from fair New Haven was even forced to follow in the Crimson's footsteps.

"The game was at New Haven, on one of the coldest days on record. It was so cold that by halftime all of the metal instruments had frozen up," Everett says. "Except for the drummers, whose hands were frozen, no one could play."

So Everett's resourceful musicians went out at halftime and sang the traditional Harvard fight songs with only the drums to accompany them.

"Then, just before he turned the microphone over to the Yale announcer, Harvard's announcer said, 'And now, please watch as Yale attempts to imitate Harvard's band,'" Everett says. "And since they couldn't play any instruments either, that's exactly what they did."

Today

Everett says the biggest recent change in the band is that it does more than play at football games.

"I see the band spreading itself more evenly across various services around the University," he says. "Back in the '30's, this was a football band. Today, we hold concerts and play at Freshman Week, Commencement, and for visiting dignitaries."

But its original mission--"to foster Harvard spirit through Harvard song," Everett says--will not soon be forgotten.

Says Eakin: "Today, the band stands as one of the last bastions of school spirit at Harvard."