Henry Fillmore
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Henry Fillmore (December 3, 1881 – December 7, 1956) was an American musician, composer, publisher, and bandleader, best known for his many
marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...
and screamers, a few of which he wrote for the
Band of the Hour The Frost Band of the Hour, sometimes abbreviated as simply Band of the Hour, is the marching band at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The band plays at all home Miami Hurricanes football games and selected away games. It also t ...
at the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
in
Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
.


Early life and education

Fillmore was born in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
as the eldest of five children. In his youth, he mastered piano, guitar, violin, flute, and
slide trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...
. He kept his trombone activities a secret at first, as his circumspect religious father James Henry Fillmore (1849–1936)—a composer of
gospel songs Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
, often in collaboration with
Jessie Brown Pounds Jessie Hunter Brown Pounds (August 31, 1861 – March 3, 1921) was an American lyricist of gospel songs. Life Jessie Hunter Brown was born into a farm family in the village of Hiram, Portage County, Ohio. A staff writer for ''Christian Stan ...
—believed it an uncouth and sinful instrument. Henry's mother secretly bought a used trombone for him and obscured from Henry's father the son's learning to play the instrument. Fillmore, whose uncle,
Frederick A. Fillmore Frederick Augustus Fillmore (May 15, 1856 – November 16, 1925) was an American composer and music publisher, and the co-founder of the Fillmore Music House. Composer and publisher Fillmore was the vice-president of the Fillmore Music House ...
(1856–1925) was also a tune-composer for gospel songs, was a singer for his church choir as a boy. He began composing at 18, with his first published
march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
"Hingham", named after a line of brass instruments. Fillmore entered the
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, w ...
in 1901.


Personal life

After graduating from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Fillmore traveled the United States as a
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff ...
with his wife, an exotic vaudeville dancer named Mabel May Jones. They were married in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
.


Career

During the 1920s, Fillmore was back in Cincinnati conducting the
Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic body, Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over ...
Temple Band, which he turned into one of the best
marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...
s in the country. After the death of John Phillip Sousa in 1932, he was often called "The March King".


Fillmore Music House

The Fillmore Music House was co-founded in 1874 by his father, James Fillmore, and his uncle, Frederick Fillmore, under the "Fillmore Brothers" name, which began as a Cincinnati-based hymnal publisher. When Henry Fillmore became president after his father's death in 1937, he transformed the firm to focus on orchestral and band music, along with musical instrument sales. In 1951, he announced the Fillmore Music Shop would become an affiliate of
Carl Fischer Music Carl Fischer Music is an American sheet music publisher. It was founded in 1872 in the East Village neighborhood of New York City as a musical instrument repair shop. Except for a brief period in the early 1930s, it has always been the family- ...
of New York, with the condition that it would still operate under the Fillmore name and that all thirteen employees would continue in their employment at the store's 528 Elm Street location.


Florida band work

In 1938, Fillmore, after being advised by a physician that he had just a few months to live, retired to
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. He went on, however, to prove the physician wrong, keeping an active schedule rehearsing high school bands in Florida and composing marches. The Henry Fillmore Band Hall, the rehearsal hall for many of the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
's performing groups, acquired its name as a tribute to Fillmore's work in the band genre. The hall houses the Fillmore Museum. His march "Orange Bowl" was written for Miami's
Band of the Hour The Frost Band of the Hour, sometimes abbreviated as simply Band of the Hour, is the marching band at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The band plays at all home Miami Hurricanes football games and selected away games. It also t ...
. ''Uncle Henry'', as Fillmore was affectionately known to the members of the ''Band of the Hour'', also wrote the University of Miami's current official fight song – "Miami U How-De-Doo". His arrangement of "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
" is performed by the
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
Marching Chiefs The Florida State University Marching Chiefs is the official marching band of Florida State University. The band has served in this capacity since the 1940s and continues to perform at all home football games as well as several away games each ...
. His march "Men of Florida" was composed for the bands at the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
. He was given an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of Miami in 1956 in recognition of his career. Fillmore lived out the rest of his days in
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
.


Music

Fillmore wrote over 250 pieces and
arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...
orchestrations for hundreds more. He published under a variety of pseudonyms, including Gus Beans, Harold Bennett, Ray Hall, Harry Hartley, Al Hayes, and Henrietta Moore. Only the name Will Huff caused any issues, as another
Will Huff William Lockwood Huff (January 16, 1875 – November 5, 1942) was a composer of band music best known for his military marches and the circus march ''The Squealer''. He was born in Massieville, Ohio and grew up in Coalton, Ohio. He took up his fa ...
composed marches and resided in Fillmore's state. Fillmore used many pseudonyms throughout his career and was worried that flooding the market with music published under "Henry Fillmore" would dissuade others from purchasing his music. His pseudonyms are associate with grade, or difficulty level, or genre. In a 1953 interview with Jack H. Mahan, Fillmore explained his pseudonym uses: "Harold Bennett" was easy and non-progressive, if you can play one, you can play them all. "Al Hayes" was a little more difficult. "Will Huff" was a duplicate composer (Fillmore's "Will Huff" was usually easy grade). "Henry Fillmore" could be the easiest marches or the most difficult. "Harry Hartley" are all solos; cornet, trombone, and baritone that are easy grade with no triple-tonguing or cadenzas. Solos under other names are just incidental. "Henrietta Moore" is all twilight songs. A musical trade journal explained matters similarly in 1928: “The Harold Bennett Group includes selections for various instruments covering a specific range and not too difficult. The Al Hayes group is written for the same instruments, but with a more difficult arrangement; the Harry Hartley group is mostly teachers’ solos; and the Ray Hall group interesting miscellaneous compositions. Under his own name Mr. Fillmore has written many trombone solos and marches.” While best known for
march music A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's ...
and screamers, he also wrote
waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...
es, foxtrots,
hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
, novelty numbers, and
overtures Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were ...
. Fillmore's best-known compositions include: * "The President's March" (1956) * "The Footlifter" (1935) * "Americans We" (1929) * "Men of Ohio" (1921) * "The Man of the Hour" (1924) * "His Honor" (1934) * "The Klaxon" (1930) * "Lassus Trombone" (1915) * "(We're) Men of Florida" * "Military Escort March" (1923) * "Mt. Healthy" (1916) * "The Crosley March" * "Noble Men" (1922) * "Orange Bowl March" (1939) * " Rolling Thunder March" (1916) * "
The Circus Bee "The Circus Bee" is a circus march, or screamer, composed by Henry Fillmore Henry Fillmore (December 3, 1881 – December 7, 1956) was an American musician, composer, publisher, and bandleader, best known for his many march (music), marches ...
" (1908) * "King Karl King" (1957) Fillmore gained fame as the "Father of the Trombone Smear", writing a series of 15 novelty tunes featuring trombone smears called "The Trombone Family". A number of these have a strong
ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...
influence. The tunes have subtitles printed on the parts, some of which contain racial slurs. Many were advertised specifically for the minstrel performers of the era. All of Fillmore's trombone rags are as follows: * "Miss Trombone (A Slippery Rag)" (1908) * "Teddy Trombone (A Brother to Miss Trombone)" (1911) * "Lassus Trombone (De Cullud Valet to Miss Trombone)" (1915) * "Pahson Trombone (Lassus Trombone's 'Ole Man')" (1916) * "Sally Trombone (Pahson Trombone's Eldest Gal Some Crow)" (1917) * "Slim Trombone (Sally Trombone's Cousin - the Jazzin' One Step Kid)" (1918) * "Mose Trombone (He's Slim Trombone's Buddy)" (1919) * "Shoutin' Liza Trombone (Mose Trombone's Ah-finity)" (1920) (Also known as "Hallelujah Trombone" for the quote from Handel's "Messiah") * "Hot Trombone (He's Jes a Fren' ob Shoutin' Liza Trombone)" (1921) * "Bones Trombone (He's Jes as Warm as Hot Trombone)" (1922) * "Dusty Trombone" (1923) * "Bull Trombone (A Cullud Toreador)" (1924) * "Lucky Trombone" (1926) * "Boss Trombone" (1929) * "Ham Trombone" (1929) Occasionally, as in "The Footlifter" credit, Fillmore wrote with the name Harold Bennett.


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Fillmore on hutchcc.edu

also see the Karl King Page (each of these "March Kings" wrote a march saluting the other)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fillmore, Henry 1881 births 1956 deaths American bandleaders American male composers American composers American Disciples of Christ Musicians from Cincinnati University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni University of Miami faculty 20th-century American male musicians Circus musicians