Obscure American history trivia

This US senator was nicknamed "the wizard of ooze."

 

Bzzt. It was Everett McKinley Dirksen, whose syrupy diction can be heard on the 1968 spoken-word Top-40 hit, "Gallant Men."

 

I knew that, I swear! I just didn't see the question.

 

Dirksen was a big deal back in the day, as you probably knew as well. He broke the Southern filibuster against the 1964 Civil Rights Bill.

Here's one that you may not know, although I remember offering it up on a trivia-obsessed forum, possibly this one. In what well-known movie did a marching band play "Gallant Men?"

 

You got me on that one, friend.

 

Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper were thrown in jail after crashing the parade in "Easy Rider."