200. Da-da-dum-da-da-dum-da-da-dum-dum-dum!

200. "The William Tell Overture Finale" by Rossini

Do you like music that gives you goosebumps for 2-minutes straight? Do you like the image of a daring hero racing to the rescue just in the nick of time? Do you like blasting your brass instrument so loud that it permanently damages the hearing of the flute-players sitting in front of you? Then you will not find any other piece of classical pep band music more satisfying than "The William Tell Overture Finale."

Oh, sure. We had other blast-worthy classical songs in our brassy arsenal that could ruin a few flautist eardrums. There was "El Capitan" and "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillips Sousa. There was the "Star Spangled Banner" by John Stafford Smith. And there was "Mars, the Bringer of War" by Gustav Holst, which featured a long, long, long part of the song where the trumpets played the same high-pitched loud note over and over and over. But no song elicited so much joy in both the players and the audience as "The William Tell Overture Finale," or as most people in Marsh Valley called it, "The Lone Ranger Song." It's such a good song that it doesn't even have to be played very well for people to enjoy it.  It just has to be fast and loud, and it will still sound awesome! Don't believe me? Well, then you've just picked a fight with America's favorite Arky, Glen Campbell!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bhuxkzjuQc

That's some rhinestoned side-burned chin-dimpled tight-bell-bottomed goosebumps, my friend! If you aren't excited by that rendition of The William Tell Overture Finale, well then…all I can say is…you must be that mustached clarinetist that we see on Glen's right from 1:33 to 1:45.

Speaking of goosebumps, they are a key feature of many of the top-200 list. If I listen to a song and it gives me goosebumps, then I know that it is definitely a contender for a top-200 song. The only reason this goose-bumping juggernaut isn't higher on the list is because it has the word "finale" in the title, and it just seems right to make it the final song on the list.

Adios!