![]() ![]() Morse was not only an outstanding athlete, earning a big “C” for every major sport, but also a talented singer. No history of Cal Songs could be complete without mentioning Clinton R. “Big C” is traditionally the first song of the pregame to which the Band marches its signature Flying Wedge formation. Ironically, the nation at large recognizes “Sons of Westwood” as UCLA’s fight song rather than Berkeley’s as a result of their successful sports programs and extensive exposure on televised games, but that may be changing with the success of Cal Sports in the 21st century! Some regents and UCLA administrators thought it quite reasonable that this “little sister” of Cal maintain “Sons of Westwood” as a “reaffirmation solidarity.” However, ardent students and alumni at Cal were never happy with the situation, especially Berdahl, who continued to fight for the abolition of “Sons of Westwood” through the remainder of his tenure as director. Public Domain status meant that only adaptations and arrangements of the song could be copyrighted, so UCLA had every legal right to “steal” the song. The matter came to a head in February 18, 1969, when Irwin Coster, working on behalf of the UCLA cause, received official word from the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress that “Big C” had never been copyrighted, and thus it was in the Public Domain. A bitter exchange ensued between Berdahl and James for the next several years concerning the legal and ethical grounds under which “Big C” was appropriated. James Berdahl, then director of the Cal Band, was incensed over what he felt was a violation of the sanctity of Cal songs. Afterwards, UCLA continued using his arrangement of “Big C,” adding its own lyrics and renaming it “Sons of Westwood.” The UCLA Band began playing it regularly as their new fight song. Kelley James, then Associate Director of the UCLA Band and alumnus of the Cal Band wrote an arrangement of “Big C” for the combined half-time show. Bands from all four of the schools would perform together in one giant, combined half-time show. The games were played alternately in Berkeley one year and in Los Angeles the next year. This event was a double header football game that pitted Cal against UCLA and UC Davis against UC Santa Barbara. The controversy surrounding the song has its roots in the “All University Weekend,” an annual event which began around 1948 and lasted into the 1960’s. ![]() In the Fall of 1913, the competition was stiff, but the Rally Committee managed to narrow the field down to two songs, “Big C” and “Stanford Jonah.” “Big C” took the prize with “Jonah” winning the next year. It was written to commemorate the creation of the large cement “C” built on the “rugged Eastern foothills” of the Berkeley campus in 1905, and the song was later entered in the Daily Californian’s then annual school song competition. Williams, with words by Norman Loyall McLaren. “Big C” was composed in 1913 by Harold P. “Big C” is unquestionably the most famous and controversial Cal song. “Fight forĬalifornia” traditionally is the fourth song of the Cal Band’s pregame, to which the Band marches from a ![]() Scoring play in football, and whenever the Straw Hat Band marches into a performance. “Fight for California” is played whenever a Cal athletic team enters the field of play, after every Cal “Fight for California.” Undoubtedly, the crew did not wake up late that morning! Several members of the shuttle crew were graduates fromīerkeley, and one morning during the mission, mission control woke the crew to the blaring strains of In 1987, NASA launched a shuttle mission to rescue and repair aĬommunications satellite known as SolarMax. Of all Cal songs, “Fight for California” has the distinction of being played in arguably the most unique Was fooling around with a tune called ‘Lights Out.’ Fine for a college song,’ said Bob Fitch, ‘believe I’ll Of how the lyrics for “Fight for California” came to be written by Robert Fitch: “One day the Glee Club ThoughĪrguably THE quintessential Cal song, “Fight’s” origin is rather uninspiring. Strain of the “Lights Out March,” with an added introduction written by Charles Cushing. “Fight for California” is simply the trio and break In 1906 Earl Elleson McCoy, a student at the University of Illinois, wrote the “Lights Out March” andĭedicated it to the commander of his R.O.T.C. Written in 1909 by Earl Elleson McCoy, Robert N. LIGHTS OUT | PALMS OF VICTORY | CALIFORNIA MARCHING SONG | ONE MORE RIVERĬALIFORNIA DRINKING SONG | BOWLES HALL DRINKING SONG | TOAST TO CALIFORNIAĬALIFORNIA, WE'RE FOR YOU | CALIFORNIA VICTORY SONG | CALIFORNIA TRIUMPH | SS TITANIC HAIL TO CALIFORNIA | ALL HAIL BLUE AND GOLD | STANFORD JONAH | GOLD AND BLUEįIGHT 'EM | CAL BAND MARCH | ROLL ON | MAKE WAY FOR THE BEAR FIGHT FOR CALIFORNIA | BIG C | SONS OF CALIFORNIA | GOLDEN BEAR ![]()
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