Brun Campbell (March 26, 1884 – November 23, 1952) was an American composer and pianist.
Biography
Born Sanford Brunson Campbell in
Oberlin, Kansas
Oberlin is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Kansas, Decatur County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 1,644.
History
Oberlin was platted in 1878. It was named after Ob ...
, he ran away to
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
when he was fifteen and met
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...
. For the next decade, he made his living as a traveling pianist in the
Midwestern
The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
and
Southern United States. In 1908, he married and settled down to become a
barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...
.
Toward the end of his life, he wrote about ragtime and made recordings. He died in
Venice, California
Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...
. He is buried at
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery located at 10621 Victory Boulevard, straddling the border between the Los Angeles neighborhood of North Hollywood and Burbank, California.
The cemetery's East entrance features the Portal of the Fo ...
.
Compositions
None of Campbell's compositions were copyrighted or published during his lifetime. However, they became known from recordings he made in the 1940s and early 1950s.
In 1993, Richard Egan, Jr. published ''Brun Campbell: The Music of "The Ragtime Kid"'', a collection of transcriptions of Campbell pieces.
In 2000,
David Thomas Roberts recorded an album of Campbell's music, which was released on CD by Pianomania Music Publishing of
Roseville, California
Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the United States Census Bureau, US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500, making it the third-l ...
.
* "Barber Shop Rag"
* "Blue Rag"
* "Campbell Cakewalk"
* "Chestnut Street in the 90s"
* "Essay in Ragtime"
* "Ginger Snap Rag"
* "Grandpa's Stomp"
* "Rendezvous Rag"
* "Tent Show Rag"
* "Reminiscences"
* "Slow and Easy"
* "Salome Slow Drag"
* "Brun's Slow Dog"
* "Short Rag"
* "Frankie and Johnny Rag"
* "Grandpa's Stomp"
* "Lulu White"
* "Barrelhouse Rag"
In fiction
Larry Karp, who researched and wrote a biography of Campbell, also made him the subject of ''The Ragtime Kid'' and ''The Ragtime Fool'', the first and third of a set of four historical novels he called "Ragtime Mysteries".
See also
*
List of ragtime composers
A list of ragtime composers, including one or more famous or characteristic compositions.
Pre-1940
*Felix Arndt (1889–1918),"Desecration Rag" (1914), "Nola" (1916), "Operatic Nightmare" (1916)
*May Aufderheide (1888–1972), "Dusty Rag" (1908)
...
References
Other sources
*
*
1884 births
1952 deaths
American male composers
American composers
People from Oberlin, Kansas
Ragtime composers
American hairdressers
Ragtime pianists
Barbers
American male pianists
20th-century male pianists
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American pianists
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