Ralph Shur took over the visual department for the 1968 season. His brilliant stroke was the development of, in his words, a "unique and different" movement style, based on a relaxed, controlled 25-inch stride. The concept of technique as applied to ensemble (visual or musical) was in its infancy in drum corps at the time and was virtually non-existent in the senior division.

If John Sasso took his cue from the Chicago Cavaliers and the Royal Airs, Shur looked to the Casper Troopers, not so much for style as for approach. The corps spent the winter adapting stride to 25-inch tape strips on the hanger floor and the summer winning contests.

Though they didn't take home any major prizes, the 1969 edition of the Sunrisers is generally considered the finest of the decade, for a number of reasons: Procession of the Nobles, the first female DCA guard, the introduction of G/F bugles and Gerry Shellmer.

Drum corps' "father of percussion" flat out revolutionized the way drum lines did business and his innovations became the standards of today; timpani, keyboards, multi-drums and melodic percussion features. When asked at a rules convention exactly what he wanted, Shellmer replied, "This," slamming down the complete Deagan, LP and Musser catalogues. "All of it!" He got all of it.

Meanwhile, John Sasso took brass technique to a new plateau. Having studied with John Singer, principal horn in the New York Philharmonic under Bernstein, John began incorporating ensemble etudes, exercises and chorales into Sunriser brass training. A certain 1969 rookie lead soprano would one day develop this concept into a formula for unparaled success. His name was Wayne Downey.

The next couple of seasons saw a "changing of the guard" in staff, management and general direction. Meanwhile, DCA competition was getting tougher. The corps remained strong and quite popular through 1970 and 1971 and put a stamp on some of its most memorable music. Abraham, Martin and John, Hi-de-Ho and Norwegian Wood come to mind.

The 1972 Sunrisers had a sluggish start, but they finished the season with a monumental effort and were probably the most improved corps in DCA that summer. Still, they weren't contending for the gold. A little flirtation with rock and pop music gave some young writers needed experience. Two of these in particular, Gene Bennett and John Arietano, would profoundly influence the future direction of the corps.

Bennett had been the Sunriser guard captain, drum major and drill tech since arriving from the famed George Washington Carver Gay Blades along with Uncle Nick (Albert Nicholls), Bob Cephus, Ron Isom and Duke Jordan. Jordan became one-third of the spectacular Sun rifle squad that included Vinnie Pesche and Frank Cevasco. (There are no videos, but you can hear the crowd react in American Salute 1966 when they throw 11-pound Springfields with bayonets over the entire horn line.) Bennett became the next great Sunriser drill writer.

A slender lead soprano with an unorthodox embouchure and a screaming upper register, Arietano had been playing in the line since 1966, assisting with brass duties and teaching about two dozen local junior corps, all the while refining his craft as an arranger.

They virtually had to start over, but Bennett and Arietano would eventually help take the Sunrisers to their first DCA championship.

The Sunrisers' fortune began to take a dramatic turn for the better in 1974, with the arrival of Mike DeLorenzo as the corps' new director. "Mr. D" came from the Purple Lancers, a junior corps from New York State that wound up making DCI Finals in 1974.

To their credit, the relative handful of people who were still with the Sunrisers decided to work with DeLorenzo to get the corps pointed in the right direction. Sun also began to see an influx of young, talented members from New Jersey, New York City and New York's Westchester County area.

On the competition field in 1974, the Sunrisers struggled with a small horn line, trying to master a difficult brass book. The corps finished eighth at DCA, but seeds were sown for what became the most successful era in Sunriser history.

In 1975, the corps climbed another notch. Bennett was writing the visual show; John Sasso was again heading the brass program; Arietano and Ray Fallon were being given larger roles as brass instructors and arrangers. In a key move, late in the 1975 season, the Sunrisers hired Dennis DeLucia, the guru behind the drum line of the Hawthorne Muchachos, as the corps' percussion coordinator.

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