In 1912, a small group of University of Alabama musicians who had played in high school band programs were interested in forming a college version to continue playing at a University level (Hamner 10). With funding from local businesses and the athletic department, this group of students formed the first University of Alabama band in 1913. Dr. Gustav F. Wittig, an electrical engineering professor at the University, served as the first director of the band (12). The 1913 band was comprised of 14 students. In 2012, the band consisted of 426 performing members. The shared love of music is the common bond that allows the band to continue to thrive. However, the 1913 band did not act as the Million Dollar Band does today. Until 1920, the band was not even called “the marching band.” According to author Mike Aaron in his essay on the history of football traditions at Alabama, the band was originally organized into two groups: “One group, composed of freshmen and sophomores, served as a military band for ROTC parades, while the second group was comprised of juniors and seniors and performed at football games” (122). These two groups eventually evolved into a single band unit.



Much of the band's success is often attributed to Colonel Carlton K. Butler who served as director from 1930 to 1968 (Aaron 123). Colonel Butler was only 28 years old when he was first employed by the University as director of the Million Dollar Band (Hamner 154). The Colonel made the tunes “Yea! Alabama” and the “Go Alabama” cheer popular by having the band play them at important parts of the game (Aaron 123).  Over Colonel Butler’s time as director, the band “performed at 14 post-season bowl football games, appeared on numerous television broadcasts, marched at three governor’s inaugurations, and performed at the 1949 inauguration of President Harry S. Truman” (Greer 214-15). In 1944, Colonel Butler also allowed women to join the band, which added “beauty, styles, and mannerism to the band” (Greer 217). Over the course of his 34 years as director, Colonel Butler led the Million Dollar Band to “national prominence through his insistence of high, quick stepping, elaborate maneuvers, and accuracy and style of musical performance” (219). Upon his retirement in 1969, The University of Alabama Board of Trustees appointed Colonel Butler as Professor Emeritus of Music and Phi Beta Mu awarded him the “Outstanding Bandmasters Award.”  In 1979, former students and friends of Colonel Butler donated $10,000 for University of Alabama scholarships in the name of Colonel Butler. To honor Colonel Butler further, the Board of Trustees also named and dedicated the band practice field “Butler Field” (219-20).