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"Charge" is a shortfanfare frequently played at sporting events.
It was written byTommy Walker while a junior at theUniversity of Southern California in the fall of 1946. The fanfare consists of six notes followed by rooters shouting, "Charge!"[1] Occasionally, the fanfare is repeated one or more times in the same key or in successively higher keys, or is preceded by a lead-invamp.
In 1958 theBrooklyn Dodgers moved toLos Angeles and in the spring of 1959 the Dodgers put on sale, at $1.50 apiece (equivalent to $16 in 2024), 20,000 toy trumpets capable of playing the six notes of the "Charge" fanfare. The fanfare was heard in NBC broadcasts of games 3, 4 and 5 of the1959 World Series between the Dodgers and theChicago White Sox and played at cars.
It also appeared in the originalThe Flintstones 1960s television cartoon series (episode dates uncertain), followed by "Charge!" or "Charge it!", shouted by characters (typicallyWilma Flintstone andBetty Rubble) on the way to a shopping spree.[2]Scrappy-Doo, a character that appeared in the 1980s incarnations of theScooby-Doo franchise, also regularly used the fanfare as a lead-in to his catchphrase, "Puppy Power!"[original research?] The fanfare was incorporated into the jingles used onScott Shannon's Rockin American Top 30 Countdown which ran from 1984 through 1992. In thefirst-person shooter video gameOverwatch, the character Bastion makes a noise similar to this fanfare when it uses its ultimate ability. The fanfare is also used inFIRST robotics competitions as the sound cue for the matches to begin.
Bobby Kent, former musical director of theSan Diego Chargers, has claimed he invented the "Charge" fanfare in 1978 while working for the Chargers.[2][3] Kent filed suit againstASCAP for negotiating licenses withMLB,NFL,NBA,NHL,NCAA andNASCAR while failing to secure his consent. TheLos Angeles Lakers settled with Kent for $3,000.[4] Kent's claim can be disproven by the fact thatFrank Leahy, the Chargers' first general manager in 1960, chose the name "Chargers" after the already existing fanfare.[5]
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