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It is a hot night in July. The year is immaterial: sometime in the early days of the twentieth century. Downtown the street is dark except for the occasional oil streetlights and the creak of wagon wheels as they bump across holes in the business district. Curb sitters carry on their arguments.
But in the park, things are different. Seated on the grass and on the park benches assembled facing the band stand are men and women, women in bustles and men in arm bands to hold their sleeves above their hands. Children play in the grass.
The bandstand is a blaze of lights. Seated in a semicircle are the members of the Town band. They are wearing stiff, hot jackets, buttoned closely in the front, and surmounted by a close-fitting collar. On their heads, they wear hats like those the trolley car conductor wears. Their pants are the same color as their coats, without a doubt black. There is a stripe of gray running down each trouser leg. Ah, there were the days.
And so was the story in town after town, city after city, and municipality after municipality in Oklahoma in the latter part of the 1800s and into the first half of the new 20th century. The Land Run of 1889 marked a significant change in the development of the Indian Territory as settlers flocked to what would soon clamor for statehood. Wagons transported goods as settlements and towns sprang up or grew with the influx. Town governments, councils, and business groups quickly vied for control and established norms. Lawmen were appointed, schools opened, and commerce brought a measure of urbanization. The 1893 World’s Fair rang the bell of modernization, and Oklahoma’s communities answered the call, racing to become more cosmopolitan and attract more business and citizens.
We Want a Band is the story of Oklahoma’s early musical development.
“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”
David McCullough
About W. Scott Barger
Scott Barger's debut history book, “We Want a Band!” is an insightful glimpse into Oklahoma’s musical history, musicians, and town bands from around 1880 to 1940.
Scott never envisioned writing a book until he attended a New Horizons community band concert in 2023, where his brother, Cliff, was playing. Barger came away wondering whether community bands were really very good or more like Mayberry’s band from The Andy Griffith Show. After a bit of research, it became evident there was a fabulous archive of information, but no books about community/town bands in Oklahoma. The story of these musicians was fading with time. Scott became the wholehearted storyteller of this great history. He has a background in music, playing trombone, bass guitar, and, at one time, bagpipes. He won the John Philip Sousa Award in high school, has performed live, and recorded with several bands.
When not digging through history, he enjoys reading, painting, golf, spending time with family, and keeping his mind sharp by playing Warhammer 40K locally and in tournaments. Barger holds a degree in Theology and is a member of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Norman.
His father, David Barger, a great musician and band director, helped formulate his love of music, even taking bagpipe lessons together. David encouraged Scott to write this book, but died early in 2025 before its completion. This work is dedicated to him.
In summary, W. Scott Barger is recognized as a historical author with a focus on Oklahoma’s town bands, and We Want a Band! serves as a significant contribution to preserving the state’s musical heritage.