Thomas William Shea (November 14, 1931 – March 12, 1982) was an American

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

composer.

Biography

Born in

Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston. Both are principal cities of the Charleston� ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, Shea studied piano briefly as a child, but later became interested in ragtime after hearing the "

Maple Leaf Rag The "Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered on September 18, 1899) is an early ragtime musical composition for piano composed by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, and became the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent compose ...

." After learning some ragtime by ear, he started composing his own rags. His style has been informally called "Prairie Ragtime." He was active in ragtime circles in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

area and expanded his exposure to ragtime and its proponents by attending ragtime festivals in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. In 1970 he moved to

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...

. He is known to have composed over twenty rags, some of which are often performed today ("Brun Campbell Express," "Rosebud Rag," "Corncracker Rag," "Little Wabash Special") and two of which were published ("Brun Campbell Express" in ''They All Played Ragtime'', Oak Publications, New York, 1966; and "Trillium Rag" in

Max Morath Max Morath (born October 1, 1926) is an American ragtime pianist, composer, actor, and author. He is best known for his piano playing and is referred to as "Mr. Ragtime". He has been a touring performer as well as being variously a composer, re ...

's ''Guide to Ragtime'', Hollis Music, Inc., New York, 1964). He recorded three

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s which contain his compositions: ''Classic and Modern Rags'' (Ragtime Society Records RSR-1, 1963), ''Prairie Ragtime'' (Ragtime Society Records RSR-2, 1964) and ''Little Wabash Special'' (Stomp Off Records, SOS-1022, 1982). Shea died in Raleigh from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

in March 1982. Asteroid

60614 Tomshea 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, discovered by astronomers with the

Catalina Sky Survey Catalina Sky Survey (CSS; obs. code: 703) is an astronomical survey to discover comets and asteroids. It is conducted at the Steward Observatory's Catalina Station, located near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. CSS focuses on the s ...

in 2000, was named in his memory. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on January 12, 2017 ().

Bibliography

* Jasen, David A., and Tichenor, Trebor Jay, ''Rags and Ragtime,'' Dover Publications, New York,1978, pp. 282–284. * Blesh, Rudi, and Janis, Harriet, ''They All Played Ragtime,'' Oak Publications, New York, 4th edition, 1971, sheet music insert.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Thomas 1931 births 1982 deaths Ragtime composers American male composers People from Mattoon, Illinois 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References