

This was the lead photograph for LIFE magazine's 30 October 1950, story, 'The Michigan Band; It Steps Fastest and Plays Best of the College Outfits That Provide Music and Spectacle on Football Fields.' The caption reads,
'A group of admiring children follow drum major Smith around on University of Michigan Campus at Ann Arbor, trying with varying success to imitate the high kicks he is rehearsing for the football field. Smith's magnificent technique also includes complete mastery of the difficult art of baton twirling' (pp. 108-9).