American march music is march music written and/or performed in the United States.

The true "march music era" existed from 1850 to 1940s as it slowly became shadowed by the coming of jazz. Earlier marches, such as the ones from George Frideric Handel, Wolfgang Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven tended to be part of a symphony or a movement in a suite. Despite the age of these marches, the history it holds and its performance in the United States, they are generally not thought of as "typical American march music."

The origins of European and American march music can be traced to the military music of the Ottoman empire. The martial purpose of the music was to regulate the functioning of armies in the field by communicating orders, and keeping time during marching and maneuvers. The extensive use of percussion, such as cymbals, was also used for psychological effect as their use, especially in Western Europe, was unknown and had the capacity to frighten opponents. Indeed, the subsequent use of cymbals and other such percussive instruments in European 'classical' music was a direct importation from the Ottomans. In the early 18th century Europeans were first exposed to this type of music and interest would continue to build into the early 19th century when a vogue for Turkish marching bands swept through Europe. Pieces displaying this Turkish influence can be found in the works of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven with a notable example being "Turkish March" by Beethoven (part of Op. 113): Overture and incidental music for Die Ruinen von Athen.

A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John Philip Sousa and the martial hymns of the late 19th century. Examples of the varied use of the march can be found in Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, in the Marches militaires of Franz Schubert, in the Marche funèbre in Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor, and in the Dead March in Handel's Saul.

Marches can be written in any time signature, but the most common time signatures are 4/4, 2/2 (alla breve, although this may refer to 2 time up until the time of Johannes Brahms, or cut time), 6/8, and 3/4; however, some modern marches are being written in 1/2 time. The modern march tempo hovers around 120 beats to the minute (the standard Napoleonic march tempo); however, many funeral marches conform to the Roman standard of 60 beats to the minute.

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. An Academy Award-winner, Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades, and was named the all-time top money-making star. An enduring American icon, he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height.

Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa but his family relocated to the greater Los Angeles area when he was four years old. He found work at local film studios when he lost his football scholarship to USC as a result of a bodysurfing accident. Initially working for the Fox Film Corporation, he mostly appeared in small bit parts. His acting breakthrough came in 1939 with John Ford's Stagecoach, making him an instant star. Wayne would go on to star in 142 pictures, primarily typecast in Western films.

Among his best known films are The Quiet Man (1952), which follows him as an Irish-American boxer and his love affair with a fiery spinster played by Maureen O'Hara; The Searchers (1956), in which he plays a Civil War veteran who seeks out his abducted niece; Rio Bravo (1959), playing a Sheriff with Dean Martin; True Grit (1969), playing a humorous U.S. Marshal who sets out to avenge a man's death in the role that won Wayne an Academy Award; and The Shootist (1976), his final screen performance in which he plays an aging gunslinger battling cancer.