(Vocals, quills, guitar, 1874–1930) A son of former slaves, Henry ‘Ragtime’ Thomas specialized in the quills, a panpipe-like instrument made from hollow reeds. He was itinerant for most of his life, a fact reflected in songs such as ‘Railroadin’, in which Thomas names train stops from Fort Worth to Chicago. His ‘Bull Doze Blues’, renamed ‘Goin’ ...
1567–1620 English poet and composer Campion first distinguished himself as a poet and poetic theorist. His treatise, Observations in the Art of English Poesie (1602), included controversial opinions regarding metre and rhyme, revealing the musical basis of his poetry. He published four books of lute-songs. Some are humanist experiments in setting classically accentuated poetry, but the best are ...
1491–1547 King of England and composer From his coronation in 1509 until his death in 1547 Henry VIII led his country in a permanent split from the Catholic church, and he depleted the savings accumulated by his parsimonious father in a series of wars he lost against France. On the brighter side, he was a generous patron of music. ...
c. 1557–1602 English composer and theorist Morley was the most important composer involved in developing the English Elizabethan madrigal from its Italian counterpart. In the 1580s and 1590s he published some English translations of Italian madrigals with newly composed English works of his own, which imitated the Italian style. His most famous works are the ‘fa la la’ madrigals: pieces ...
1505–85 English composer Athough undoubtedly a fine composer, Tallis is also worth mentioning for his amazing ability to sustain a successful career spanning the religious upheavals of the reigns of Henry VIII and his three children. Beginning as a good Catholic, he composed Latin Masses and motets. When change came, he changed too and turned out to be ...
1576–1623 English composer Weelkes was one of the leading composers of the English madrigal. The unusual text of ‘Thule the Period of Cosmographie’ (1660) is a list of marvels, each of which he matches with appropriately descriptive music. Also famous is ‘As Vesta Was, from Latmos hill descending’ (1601), his contribution to The Triumphs of Oriana, a book ...
1596–1662 English composer Henry Lawes served in the Chapel Royal of Charles I and, in the early part of his career, composed theatre music known as masques. By the early 1630s, Lawes had cultivated a friendship with the poet John Milton, with whom he collaborated on two masques, Arcades (1630), the music for which has not ...
1659–95 English composer Henry Purcell was, without doubt, the most distinguished English composer of the seventeenth century. Equally at home writing for the church, the theatre or the court, he also set a number of bawdy catches for which it is likely he also wrote the words. Unfortunately, little is known about Purcell’s private life. His ...
1710–78 English composer Arne was the son of an upholsterer in Covent Garden. As a Roman Catholic in a largely Protestant country, he had no access to the usual opportunities for advancement as a musician through a church appointment. In the 1730s, he became involved with putting on English-language opera performances in London, earning a reputation as a ...
(Am-brwaz’ To-mas’) 1811–96 French composer Thomas studied with Le Sueur at the Paris Conservatoire, where he became Director in 1871. After winning the 1832 Prix de Rome, he composed the first of his 20 operas, La double échelle (‘The Double Ladder’, 1837). His first successes, Le Caïd (‘The Cadi’, 1849) and Songe d’une nuit d’été (‘A Midsummer Night’s ...
(Trumpet, 1908–67) The son of bandleader Henry Allen Sr., Henry ‘Red’ Allen was one of the greatest trumpeters to come out of New Orleans, although he remained eternally in the shadow of Louis Armstrong. He moved to New York in 1927 to join King Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators and in 1929 the Victor label signed him as an answer ...
(Vocals, 1917–2001) Rufus Thomas Jr. was born in Cayce, Mississippi and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. He worked with tent and minstrel shows throughout the 1930s. He recorded for Sun Records in the early 1950s and had the label’s first hit with ‘Bear Cat’ in 1953; he also worked as a disc jockey at WDIA, Memphis. He began ...
(Alto saxophone, flute, composer, b. 1944) One of the most prolific and original composers of his generation, Chicago native Threadgill was a charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in the mid-1960s. During the 1970s he collaborated with several AACM colleagues and also worked with Air, his trio with drummer Steve ...
(Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals, b. 1964) Multi-talented King began in the footsteps of his father – Baton Rouge, Louisiana juke bluesman Tabby Thomas. King has mastered traditional electric and acoustic blues. He also performs and records rock- and rap-blues hybrids. In 2000 he appeared as Tommy Johnson in O Brother, Where Art Thou ...
(Harmonica, guitar, vocals, 1892–1941) Competent harmonica player, average singer and guitarist, Whitter holds a place in history as one of country music’s pioneering disc artists, recording in 1923 strong sellers like ‘Fox Chase’ and ‘The Wreck Of The Old ’97’, which enabled him to quit his job at a Fries, Virginia, textile mill ...
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