Mr. Bobo. This theme was echoed by one former student after another. His care about the band program and every student in it gave every member something to live up to.


Expectations were high. However, Mr. Bobo stressed that the expectations in the band room were no different than expectations in the workplace. “This is a dress rehearsal for life,” he would say.


Building Tradition Consistency was a hallmark of the band program under Jerry Bobo. When you arrived in the morning, Mr. Bobo greeted you at the band room door, calling you by name. The same happened in the afternoon as you left with instrument in hand.


The high school band rehearsed every Thursday evening…no more, no less. Employers in town came to know that if you had a Fayette band member on the payroll, they needed to be off on Thursday evenings. Thursday evenings was band practice night for you, just as it had been for your parents when they were in the Fayette Band.


When helping an incoming 6th grader to select an instrument, Mr. Bobo


would stress, “This is going to be a 7-year journey.” According to James Hall, Mr. Bobo’s mantra was: “Don’t quit.” Throughout that journey, he would talk to the students about the tradition of Fayette County High School Band. They knew they were part of something special. They also knew they had the responsibility of continuing that tradition.


There’s something to be said for changing with the times. There’s also something to be said for figuring out what works in your community and sticking with it. Mr. Bobo used the same beginning band method book throughout his career. When the band got new uniforms, the new ones were identical in style and color to the ones that had gone before them. The style of halftime show remained unchanged throughout the years. Those traditions gave Fayette a certain uniqueness. It also united generations of band students who shared in those traditions.


Playing an instrument well was the heart and soul of the program. When the marching band took the field, there were no flags or dance lines. The band consisted of playing members and majorettes. Every majorette also played an instrument. In fact, one of the requirements to be a Fayette majorette was you had to try out for All-State. There was no drum major. Four short whistles from the head majorette kicked off the show.


Leaving a Legacy During his time at Fayette County High School, Jerry Bobo was elected President of the Alabama Bandmasters Association, Alabama Music Educators Association, and Rho Chapter of Phi Beta Mu (Alabama chapter of the national band fraternity). He was also inducted into the Phi Beta Mu Hall of Fame. Locally, he was named “Fayette Man of the Year,” “Fayette County High School Teacher of the Year,” and President of the Fayette County Teachers Association.


After his retirement, Jerry Bobo was elected mayor of Fayette. He remained an avid supporter of the Fayette program. Often, he volunteered to carry on rehearsals in the absence of the director.


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If you drive by Fayette County High School today, you’ll pass the “Jerry Bobo Music Building,” named for him following his retirement. And as you drive through town, you just might be driving on “Jerry Bobo Drive.” Today, the “Jerry Bobo Scholarship” ensures that good things keep happening for this program and that the legend of this master teacher lives on for generations to come.


Jerry Bobo Quotes On his 82nd


birthday, more than 300 former students turned out for a


surprise birthday party. This story wouldn’t be complete without including some of his sayings, well-remembered by former students. You’ve read a couple already. Here are some others, each accompanied by that iconic Jerry Bobo smile:


That’s slower than cream rising on buttermilk. That sounds like a dying calf in a hailstorm! Can’t never could do nothing. Stop sitting there like a bump on a pickle.


Don’t give me that flappy dap and ropey dope (Directed to the drummers).


Y’all are as lost as a ball in high weeds! You don’t know if you are washing or hanging out.


You look like grandma with her teeth out chomping on a biscuit (Directed to clarinetists with incorrect embouchures).


They wouldn’t know the beat if it came up and kicked them in the knee. Your fingers are as slow as molasses on a cold morning.


Cho-co-late, choc-co-late, choc-co-late pie (to teach a rhythmic figure).


If you can play a piece perfectly (with no mistakes) five times in a row, it is ready to perform! We don’t do things bush league. The hay is in the barn.


But there’s one more. It’s a belief that kept him excited about band for 35 years. April Renfroe Tolbert talked about the many times Mr. Bobo said, “If there’s anything in this world better than young people, I’ve never seen it.”


Jerry Bobo died on June 9, 2019, at the age of 83.


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