Arranger Rich Olsen was a drummer so he knew what I meant when I would
say "standard American march tempo" when we talked about marches played
on band organs.  My memory aid is to think of a Sousa march such as
"Washington Post" or "Stars and Stripes Forever".

I found more details and information today in a Wikipedia article at

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_%28music%29 

It says march tempo of 120 beats per minute or steps per minute was
adopted by Napoleon Bonaparte so that his army could move faster, and
the American march tempo comes from the French or Napoleonic tempo.
In contrast, the British military bands play at a more stately pace;
think of "Colonel Bogey".

Here's a short list ordered by tempo (beats per minute):

88-112  British military marches ("Colonel Bogey")
110     German military marches ("Alte Kamaraden Marsch")
120     American military marches (John Philip Sousa)
140-200 American "screamer" circus marches (Karl King, Henry Fillmore)

If you hear a band organ playing too fast, ask the operator to slow
down the music so you can dance or march to it comfortably.

Robbie Rhodes
Etiwanda, California