Alumni Band Celebrates 45 Years During Homecoming

For more than 100 years, the Blue and Gold Marching Machine (BGMM) has been the catalyst that has attracted thousands of students to Aggieland. And for many students and alumni, the band has been the heartbeat that has bonded generations together for a lifetime. 

Today, the Office of Alumni Relations and Bluford Library Archives pays tribute to the North Carolina A&T Alumni Band that formed 45 years ago in 1976.  The organization was designed to keep alumni connected to the band program and provide opportunities for members to perform during the Greatest Homecoming on Earth. 

The co-founders, James Perry, Ron Cooper, Jean Wilson and Bobby Pickett proposed the idea to unify alumni and to continue the legacy of the band. The band’s first performance comprised of 40 members from the alumni family. For four decades, the band has served in a capacity to give back to current students who are members of BGMM.  

The current president, Andre Winstead ‘93, has served since 2002, and has a passion for encouraging alumni to give back to the band everyone loves so much. 

“The alumni band is a special reunion for everyone to come back together during homecoming. There are couples in the band and generations of alumni families who march together,” said Winstead. It’s important to us to continue educating alumni about supporting the band through scholarships and donating the necessary resources for new equipment and uniforms.” 

Quotes from Alumni Band Members 

Zenobia Walker ‘69 – Section Leader 

“I marched in the band with my husband, Chauncey Walker ‘68 (former alumni band president) for 40 consecutive years and with our daughter, Christy Walker ‘98.  

There is one quote I remember from my band director, Walter Carlson, ‘It doesn’t rain on the band, it rains through the band.’ This notion can be applied to everyday life and reflects the power of hard work and commitment.” 

Crystal Summers ‘88 – Flag Girl/Golden Delight 

The band teaches you key skills for everyday life, you gain so much from working hard, performing and having fun at the same time with people you enjoy being around. 

Sharon Hill-Simmons ‘92 – Flag Girl 

For many of us, the band was the first time we traveled out of the state and were exposed to new opportunities. This moment for me was valuable to my experience at A&T and has allowed me to make lifelong friendships. 

Andre Winstead ‘93 – Saxophone 

Being in the band becomes a part of your everyday life and it teaches you how to be in sync with other people. For many of us, we walked into the band as children and walked out as mature adult men and women. 

The F. D. Bluford Library Archives and Special Collections has three collection boxes on the band, numerous alumni files, and faculty/staff files on band leaders/conductors like Walter Carlson and Dr. Johnny Hodge. For more information about the history of the band or any topic in A&T History, please contact the F. D. Bluford Library at libraryarchives@ncat.edu. You can also access thousands of images and pages of Aggie history at the Bluford Library’s Digital Collections, and more resources at our Archives and Special Collections LibGuide.