Mike Leckrone & Doug Moe

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DM: Bobbie Harte/ML: Gary Smith

Doug Moe (left) and Mike Leckrone.

Doug Moe (left) and Mike Leckrone.

Mike Leckrone served five decades as the director of the UW-Madison Marching Band, overseeing the band’s oft-spectacular performances. When Leckrone began considering telling his life story, he turned to longtime Madison journalist Doug Moe. The result of their collaboration is the new book Moments of Happiness: A Wisconsin Band Story, which recounts the fun times and is candid about the tougher times too. This book launch event is hosted by the Wisconsin Book Festival.

media release: When Mike Leckrone retired as director of bands at the University of Wisconsin in 2019, he had served in that role for an astonishing fifty years. A brilliant showman, he became known for aerial entries and sequined outfits. He created the Fifth Quarter celebration that follows all home football games, removed barriers for women to march in the band, and established regular appearances at Camp Randall by special-needs high school musicians. Above all, Leckrone has always sought joy in life—which, along with his sixty-year love affair with his late wife, UW “band mom” Phyllis Leckrone, was perhaps the secret to his remarkable career. A consummate musician, as both a trumpeter and an arranger, Leckrone remains an outstanding raconteur—a talent beautifully on display in his long-awaited memoir. 

This book is the next best thing to sitting down with this master storyteller. Coauthor Doug Moe captures the joys of performing—whether at Camp Randall, in the Kohl Center, or along the Rose Bowl Parade route. Reading Leckrone’s story, one comes to understand the mix of discipline, showmanship, work ethic, warmth, toughness, wit, and musical skill that make him a Wisconsin treasure. Even for people who know Leckrone, Moments of Happiness details the stories behind the highlights and the unglamorous work that made his accomplishments possible. It both cements his legend and offers unprecedented insights into a career that will never be equaled.