Solid Men to the Front! was one of the best marches John Philip Sousa wrote during the 18 months the United States was a combatant in World War I. Sousa had resigned from his position at the U.S. Marine Corps Band in 1892 and founded his own organization, the Sousa Band, which toured widely throughout the country and made numerous recordings.

When America joined World War I he volunteered to return to military service. He joined the U.S. Navy (even though he was 62 years old at the time) and organized bands for the fleet at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago.

The title of the march is a stirring appeal to enlist. However, its tone is not bombastic. Instead, it is lively and with a particularly infectious second theme and active counterpoint for the lower brass parts. It has two attractive trio sections; the second one has the quality that is often associated with American college football marches, and shift the emphasis of the scoring to the woodwinds.

Sousa's bandsmen say this was one of his favorite marches. Despite its genial tone, it also has remarkable rhythmic drive. Frank Simon, the band's solo cornetist, said when he conducted it, "The Governor [Sousa] really got worked up over this one!...I could tell by the way he conducted it that he was really wrapped up in his own hard-hitting melodies."

Sousa recorded it the same year he wrote it for Victor with one of his Naval bands and ten extra professional players.

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