Brun Campbell: The Original Ragtime Kid

by Larry Karp

Overview

At fifteen, Sanford Brunson Campbell (1884-1952) became enchanted with the new sounds of ragtime and ran away from his rural Kansas home, hopping a train to Sedalia, Missouri, determined to take piano lessons from a black musician he had never met. Scott Joplin nicknamed his white protege "The Ragtime Kid." A composer and entertainer at the dawn of the ragtime era, "Brun" was a prime mover in the ragtime revival of the 1940s and helped establish Joplin's prominence as one of America's most innovative composers. Campbell's own legacy was tarnished by his inability to tell a straight story and he was often dismissed as a liar and a clown.

Based on his memoirs, musical compositions and correspondence with music industry notables, this first comprehensive biography of Campbell reveals an engaging storyteller and a devotee wholly dedicated to a musical genre that had been largely forgotten. His firsthand account of life as an itinerant pianist in the Midwest provides a unique picture of life a century ago.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476623832
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	04/06/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Larry Karp practiced perinatal medicine for 25 years, specializing in the care of high-risk pregnancies. His publications include eight mystery novels, a children’s book and three works of nonfiction. He lived in Seattle, Washington.
The late Larry Karp practiced perinatal medicine for 25 years, specializing in the care of high-risk pregnancies. His publications include eight mystery novels, a children's book and three works of nonfiction. He lived in Seattle, Washington.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
I. When Ragtime Was Young
Ragtime in the Red Light Districts
“My Girl Taffy”
II. When the Ragtime Kid Grew Old
Interlude
1943: Hal’s Pal
1944: Pedal to the Metal
1945: A Shift in the Wind
1946–1947: The Pen Is Mightier Than the Pest
1948: The Kid at the Crossroads
1949–1952: Last Act: Spotlight on The Kid
III. Short Pieces
Otis Saunders and “The Maple Leaf Rag”
The Maple Leaf Rag
The First Ragtime Circuit
The Original Hot Men of the 90s
Ragtime in the Red Light Districts
How About You?
Cavalcade of Jazz, or “The ­Two-Four Beat”
It Has to Be Ragtime
Not the ­Best-Case Scenario: Scott Joplin and His “Maple Leaf Rag”
Joplin Biography
IV. Brun Campbell: An Appreciation
V. Recalibrating Brun: The 1940s Musical Composition by Richard Egan
The Rag
The Blues
The Love Songs
The Love Songs of Harold A. Campbell
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Musical Works by Brun Campbell
Appendix 2: Writings and Readings
Appendix 3: When Ragtime Was Young and When the Ragtime Kid Grew Old: Brun’s Organizational Variations
Appendix 4: Transcripts of Hal Nichols’ Memories ’N Melodies Radio Shows
Appendix 5: Interview of Cecil Charles Spiller by Galen Wilkes, January 26, 1992
Appendix 6: Brun Campbell Family Tree
Index

Editorial Reviews

fans of the genre will find much to appreciate in this text”—ProtoView.

From the Publisher