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 Coalton is a village in Jackson County, Ohio, United States. The population was 445 at the 2020 census. The village derives its name from Coal Township. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of ...

. He took up his father's profession as a photographer and later became an interior decorator. He briefly performed in a circus band and in the National Guard, playing

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

and

alto horn The Tenor horn (British English; Alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flu ...

. His earliest works were published during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

with a later spurt of activity around

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the later war, he settled down in

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in Ross County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 22,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, ...

where he led an

Odd Fellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in 18th-cen ...

band until his death in 1942. The exact number of compositions written by Will Huff is uncertain, partly due to his association with

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 and Screamer (march), screamers, a few of which he wrote for the Band of the Hou ...

. Fillmore used the named "Will Huff" as a pseudonym for several years, unaware that another composer living in the same state was also composing band music under that name. The two men met later in their lives and Fillmore's publishing company published many of the real Will Huff's compositions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huff, Will 1875 births 1942 deaths American male composers American composers Military music composers