His popular nickname “The March King” was given by a British journalist

The Notable Achievements of Sousa In addition, Sousa composed the now-famous "Washington Post March" (1889), which was a tremendous success in both North America and Europe and gave him the moniker "The March King." The Marine Band began recording for the newly created phonograph at this time.

American composer and conductor John Philip Sousa (/su/; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) is best known for his American military marches. To distinguish him from his British counterpart, Kenneth J. Alford, he is referred to as "The March King" or the "American March King."

As commissioned by the Washington Post newspaper, Sousa originally composed the march "The Washington Post" in 1889 to promote an essay competition for that publication. It became extremely popular and became known as the two-step dance. A well-known British journalist dubbed Sousa "The March King" as a result of this attention.

Written in 1889, the march "The Washington Post" quickly gained enormous popularity. It was initially created to promote an essay competition for the Washington Post newspaper. However, it was so well-liked that the two-step, a dance, was created from it.