Elmer Schoebel (September 8, 1896 – December 14, 1970) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, composer, and arranger.

Early life

He was born in East St. Louis,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States.

Career

Schoebel played along to

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

early in his career. After moving on to

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

late in the 1910s, he played with the 20th Century Jazz Band in Chicago in 1920. In 1922-23 he was a member of the

New Orleans Rhythm Kings The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band included New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians. They compos ...

, then led his own band, known variously as the

Midway Gardens Orchestra The Midway Gardens Orchestra was a jazz group active in the Chicago area of the United States during 1923. The band was led by Elmer Schoebel and played at Chicago's Midway Gardens. The group recorded under various names, and as a result their re ...

, the Original Memphis Melody Boys and the Chicago Blues Dance Orchestra, before joining

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jon ...

in 1925. After returning to Chicago he played with

Louis Panico Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

and Art Kassel, and arranged for the Melrose Publishing House. In the 1930s, Schoebel wrote and arranged, working as the chief arranger for the

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

publishing division. From the 1940s onward he did some performing with

Conrad Janis Conrad Janis (February 11, 1928 – March 1, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist and actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s, and continued acting right up until 2012. He played the role of Mi ...

Blue Steele Eugene Staples, better known by the stage name Blue Steele (March 11, 1893 – July 1, 1971) was an American jazz singer, trombonist and bandleader. He also played mellophone. Staples was born in Arkansas and played in a hot jazz group called Wa ...

's Rhythm Rebels (1958), and with his own ensembles in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

. He continued to play up until his death.

Compositions

Schoebel wrote a number of

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

, including "

Bugle Call Rag "Bugle Call Rag", also known as "Bugle Call Blues", is a jazz standard written by Jack Pettis, Billy Meyers and Elmer Schoebel. It was first recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1922 as "Bugle Call Blues", although later renditions as well ...

", "Stomp Off, Let's Go","

Nobody's Sweetheart Now "Nobody's Sweetheart", also known as "Nobody's Sweetheart Now" and "You're Nobody's Sweetheart Now", is a popular song, written in 1924, with music by Billy Meyers and Elmer Schoebel, and lyrics by Gus Kahn and Ernie Erdman. The song is a jazz a ...

", "

Farewell Blues "Farewell Blues" is a 1922 jazz standard written by Paul Mares, Leon Roppolo and Elmer Schoebel. It was first released by the seminal jazz band New Orleans Rhythm Kings under the name the Friars Society Orchestra. Background The song was recor ...

", and "Prince of Wails". "Prince of Wails" was the only composition Schoebel recorded as a leader, in 1929 as Brunswick 4652. He also wrote "I Never Knew What A Girl Could Do", "Oriental", and "Discontented Blues", while a member of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.

References

;Footnotes ;General references *Kernfeld, Barry Dean, and Stanley Sadie. "New Orleans Rhythm Kings." ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. London: Macmillan, 1988 *New Orleans Rhythm Kings biography. The Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved June 29, 2006 *Kennedy, Rick. ''Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Studios and the Birth of Recorded Jazz''. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1994. Print *Kenney, William Howland. ''Chicago Jazz: A Cultural History, 1904-1930''. New York: Oxford UP, 1993 *

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

Elmer Schoebel Elmer Schoebel (September 8, 1896 – December 14, 1970) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life He was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, United States. Career Schoebel played along to silent films in Champaign, Illinoi ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

External links

Elmer Schoebel recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoebel, Elmer 1896 births 1970 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians New Orleans Rhythm Kings members