Evans, Merle

Born in Columbus, Kansas in 1891, Merle Evans joined the S.W. Brundage Carnival Band as a cornetist at the age of fifteen. For the next ten years, he traveled throughout the United States with a number of theater and comedy shows, eventually becoming bandmaster with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. In 1919, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circuses merged to form what they promoted as "The Greatest Show on Earth." Evans was selected as bandmaster for the newly combined circus, a post he held until his retirement in 1969. In addition to leading circus bands, Evans wrote eight circus marches and conducted several concert bands during the off season. Active throughout his retirement as a circus historian, Evans died in Sarasota, Florida in 1987.

From the guide to the Merle Evans Papers, 1880-1989, 1950-1985, (Special Collections in Performing Arts)

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