The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way

"The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" is the fight song of the University of South Carolina (USC). It was adapted from the musical number "Step to the Rear" in the Broadway show How Now, Dow Jones with new lyrics written by Gamecocks football coach Paul Dietzel.

History[]

USC band director James Pritchard obtained a band arrangement of the Elmer Bernstein-penned song "Step to the Rear" from the Broadway musical How Now, Dow Jones in 1968, which the school marching band played at the first game of the 1968 season. It caught the ear of head football coach and athletic director Dietzel, who contacted Pritchard about possibly adapting it as a replacement for USC's original fight song, "Carolina Let Your Voices Ring" (now called the "Old Fight Song"). Dietzel wrote the lyrics for the song, but asked that he remain anonymous because knowledge that the football coach wrote the lyrics might render it unacceptable to the basketball program.

The song was officially introduced on 16 November 1968 prior to the football game against Virginia Tech and has been USC's fight song since the fall of 1969.^[1]

References[]

^ The Carolina Bands Collection: Series I: Sheet Music (1914–2000s): 1/12 "Step to the Rear." The Music Library at the University of South Carolina website. Retrieved 1 December 2009.

External links[]

University of South Carolina fight song lyrics

[1] The Carolina Bands Collection: Series I: Sheet Music (1914–2000s): 1/12 "Step to the Rear." The Music Library at the University of South Carolina website. Retrieved 1 December 2009.

[1]

v t South Carolina Gamecocks football
Venues	Old State Fairgrounds (1894, 1896–1898) Shandon Park (1895) College Park/Davis Field (1899–1925) Melton Field (1926–1934) Williams–Brice Stadium (1934–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Clemson Georgia North Carolina
Culture & lore	Spurrier Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Mighty Sound of the Southeast "Sandstorm" The Brawl
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

v t South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
Venues	Carolina Fieldhouse (1927–1968) Carolina Coliseum (1968–2002) Colonial Life Arena (2002–present)
Rivalries	Clemson
Culture & lore	Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Garnet Army 2017–18 corruption scandal
People	Statistical leaders
	1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1988–89 1996–97 1997–98 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball
Venues	Carolina Coliseum (1974–2002) Colonial Life Arena (2002–present)
Rivalries	Clemson
Culture & lore	History Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Garnet Army
People	Head coaches Retired jerseys
	2009–10 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics.

v t South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer
Venues	Eugene E. Stone III Stadium
Rivalries	Clemson Kentucky Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	Mark Berson Cocky Mighty Sound of the Southeast "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way"
People	Head coaches
	1979 2001 2004 2005
National championship seasons in bold; College Cup seasons in italics