Robert Williams Ricketts (March 15, 1885 – November 25, 1936) was an American musician, composer, lyricist, bandleader, song arranger and music publisher. Bob Ricketts was associated with fellow musician and songwriter

Porter Grainger Porter Grainger ( Granger; October 22, 1891 − October 30, 1948) was an African American pianist, songwriter, playwright, and music publisher. Early life When Grainger was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Granger family name did not include ...

and together they produced a number of musical works.

Career

Ricketts was living in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1918, where he led the pit band at the Standard Theater in South Philadelphia. Upon his arrival in New York City, he had joined forces with Porter Grainger; together they wrote a number of songs and embarked on a number of endeavors including establishing a publishing house called the Rainbow Music Company; their chief financial backer was the composer

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

In 1924, the ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acquired in 1965 by ...

'' reported that Ricketts and Grainger wrote "twenty-two musical numbers" for a show called ''Honey,'' with the book by noted vaudevillians Flournoy E. Miller and

Aubrey Lyles Aubrey Lee Lyles (8 January 1884 – 28 July 1932), sometimes credited as A. L. Lyles, was an American vaudeville performer, playwright, songwriter, and lyricist. He appeared with Flournoy E. Miller as Miller and Lyles as a popular African-A ...

. In 1922, Ricketts led a ten piece orchestra for the show ''Dumb Luck'' (featuring

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

) that toured

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, starting in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

; but two weeks later, the cast of a hundred was stranded in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. Bernard Peterson reports that "the troupe was finally rescued by the producers of ''Shuffle Along'' through the efforts of

Noble Sissle Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along'' (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Ea ...

and his wife, who raised $700 to enable the cast to return to New York." In 1923, "Bob Rickett's Band", consisting of Ricketts on piano, Buddy Christian or

Elmer Snowden Elmer Chester Snowden (October 9, 1900 – May 14, 1973) was an American banjo player of the jazz age. He also played guitar and, in the early stages of his career, all the reed instruments. He contributed greatly to jazz in its early days as bo ...

on banjo, Ernest Elliot on clarinet, Tom Morris, cornet, Charlie Irvis on trombone and

Bob Fuller Bob Fuller (December 31, 1898 – unknown) was an American blues and jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, best known for his recordings accompanying female singers of the 1920s. Born and raised in New York City, Fuller toured the United States with ...

on alto saxophone accompanied blues singer Viola McCoy on a number of recordings. Ricketts, fronting "Rickett's Stars" also appeared on the recordings of blues singers Gladys Bryant,

Esther Bigeou Esther Bigeou (1893 – November 15, 1934) was an American vaudeville and blues singer. Billed as "The Girl with the Million Dollar Smile", she was one of the classic female blues singers popular in the 1920s. Biography She was born Hester Bijo ...

and Kitty Brown. Ricketts was also known as a song arranger; among some of the compositions he worked on included works by

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

, J. Tim Brymn and Chris Smith. Ricketts also provided arrangements for band headed by

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical ...

, among others. In 1926, Ricketts and Grainger wrote and published the pamphlet ''How to Play and Sing the Blues Like the Phonograph and Stage Artists''. They described the pamphlet as "An Original, Comprehensive Treatise That Thoroughly Explains and Illustrates Various Popular Types of BLUES such as 'WEARY BLUES', 'JAZZ BLUES', 'NEGRO SPIRITUALS,' 'LULLABIES' and Numerous 'BREAKS' for Piano." Grainger and Ricketts provided the interested reader with "A Series of Practical and Valuable Instructions That Will Enable The Lover of BLUES and SPIRITUALS to Play and Sing Them Better; A Simple Yet Thorough Short Course to BLUES Mastery". The pamphlet is full of helpful information and advice for the aspiring singer, including "It is possible to properly produce 'Blues' effects on any instrument, although the wailings, moanings, and croonings...are more easily produced on instruments like the saxophone, trombone, or violin. Without the necessary moan, croon, or slur... no blues number is properly sung." In March 1929, Grainger and Ricketts were contracted by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

to write the script and the musical score for a

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

entitled '' Jailhouse Blues'', a musical

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

starring

Mamie Smith Mamie Smith ( Robinson; May 26, 1891 – August or September 16, 1946) was an American singer. As a vaudeville singer, she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues history as the first African-American a ...

."Mamie Makes Talki," (Baltimore) ''Afro-American'', March 9, 1929, p. 8

Notable songs

All songs were written in collaboration with

unless otherwise noted. * "Honey (1924) * "No One Ever Let Me In on Nothin'" (1923) * "Hula" (1924) * "Four-Flushing Papa" (1924) * "I've Opened My Heart" (1923) * "Triflin' Blues" (1923) * "Laughin', Cryin' Blues" (1923) * "I'm Every Man's Mama" (1924) * "Tired Of Waitin' Blues" (1924) (recorded by Viola McCoy) * "Papa Don't Ask Mama Where She Was ('Cause She Don't Want To Lie To You)" (1924) * "Mistreatin' Daddy" (1923) (recorded by

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

and

) * "Louisville Blues" (1925) (with Mike Jackson) * "Ramblin' Until I Find My Lovin' Man" (1924) (with

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", " I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a N ...

) * "I'm Gonna Get You" (1923) (recorded by

) * "Charleston Crazy" (1925) (recorded by

and His Orchestra) * "If You Want To Keep Your Daddy Home" (1923) (with Porter Grainger and Ernest Paisley) * "My Mammy's Blues" (1923) (recorded by Mamie Smith) * "I Don't Love Nobody" (1923) (recorded by

Clara Smith Clara Smith (March 13, 1894 – February 2, 1935) was an American classic female blues singer, billed as the "Queen of the Moaners", although she had a lighter and sweeter voice than many of her contemporaries. Clara Smith was not related to ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricketts, Robert Williams 1885 births 1936 deaths African-American pianists American blues pianists American male pianists 20th-century male pianists American bandleaders American composers Songwriters from Ohio American male composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists African-American songwriters 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters