Anton Lada (September 25, 1890 – August 28, 1944) was a

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 ...

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 ...

and dance musician. He was a drummer. He played with and was the manager of the Louisiana Five. He recorded on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and toured. Lada performed for dancing and

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 ...

shows and made a series of recordings for Emerson Records,

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important and successful company in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by ...

, and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. He is credited as co-composer of a number of tunes with Spencer Williams, most successfully the "Arkansas Blues". After the breakup of his first Louisiana Five, he formed a series of his own bands before launching a new "Original Louisiana Five" band and moving to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

to do film scores. Lada was born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

and moved with his family to Chicago as a child. Lada formed various bands and made recordings with them. He composed "Let Us Be Sweethearts Again" with Ernie Erdman in 1921. He copyrighted "Neglected Blues" with Williams. Harry L. Alford arranged some of his songs.

Discography

*"Your Voice at Twilight", words by McElbert Moore *"Uncle Blues" (1920) *"At Parson Jenkins' Ball (1920), words by Ed Sanford and arranged by Ray Brost *"Blue Jay Blues" (1920) with Frank Rizzo *"California Blossom" (1920), with Spencer Williams

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lada, Anton Drummers from Chicago Columbia Records artists 1890 births 1944 deaths Musicians from Prague 20th-century American male musicians American people of Bohemian descent Dixieland drummers American male drummers Dixieland bandleaders American jazz drummers American ragtime musicians Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States