Mike Bernard ''(né'' Michael Barnet Brown; March 17, 1875 – June 27, 1936) was an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

who influenced the development of ragtime-era music.

Career

A musical child prodigy born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Michael Barnet Brown was the son of decorator and wallpaper dealer Julius S. Brown and his wife Eva Eisenberg. He had one older brother, Harry, born in 1873. Michael studied at the Berlin Conservatory and once reportedly played before the

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

. At age twenty-one, back in New York, he heard

Ben Harney Benjamin Robertson "Ben" Harney (March 6, 1872 – March 2, 1938) was an American songwriter, entertainer, and pioneer of ragtime music. His 1896 composition "You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down" is the second ragtime compositio ...

(the self-proclaimed "inventor of

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 ...

") perform, and decided to compete against him. He soon became known as one of the best ragtime performers in the country, billing himself as the "Rag Time King of the World." A white musician with little exposure to the African-American roots of ragtime, he pioneered a style of music that appealed to the public but is often derided by purists as "pseudo-ragtime." He was one of the first to record ragtime piano styles, working for Columbia Records starting in 1912. While he played in vaudeville pretty much continuously from the late 1890s through the late 1910s, his style mostly fell out of favor by the onset of the jazz age. He was considered for a spot with the

Original Dixieland Jazz Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the m ...

in 1918 after pianist

Henry Ragas Henry W. Ragas (January 1, 1891 – February 18, 1919) was a jazz pianist who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially. Background He played piano with the Original Dixieland Jass Band on t ...

died in the Spanish influenza outbreak, but the job ended up going to

J. Russell Robinson Joseph Russel Robinson (July 8, 1892 – September 30, 1963) was an American ragtime, dixieland, and blues pianist and composer who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. Career Robinson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his teen ...

. Mike still managed to work in increasingly smaller venues through the 1920s, last performing at Bill's Gay Nineties in Manhattan just weeks before his death. His style, flashy and fast, influenced the white ragtime composers of

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

but was often looked down upon by the admirers of the "genuine ragtime" that issued from African-American communities. Artists considered part of the "Mike Bernard school" include

Pete Wendling Pete Wendling (June 6, 1888 – April 7, 1974) was an American composer and pianist, born in New York City to German immigrants. He started his working life as a carpenter, but gained fame during the mid-1910s as a popular music composer, with ...

Lee S. Roberts Leland Stanford Roberts (1884–1949), commonly known as Lee S. Roberts, was an American composer and pianist. He is best known for his composition 'Smiles' with lyricist J. Will Callahan, written in 1917, but was a prolific composer across many ...

Max Kortlander Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

, Frank Banta,

Victor Arden Victor Arden was the stage name for an American pianist named Lewis John Fuiks (8 March 1893 — 31 July 1962)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Compa ...

Phil Ohman Phil Ohman (October 7, 1896 – August 8, 1954) was an American film composer and pianist. He is most well known for his collaboration with fellow musician Victor Arden. Biography Ohman was born Fillmore Wellington Ohman in New Britain, Connec ...

Zez Confrey Edward Elzear "Zez" Confrey (3 April 1895 – 22 November 1971)
- accessed August 2011 was an American composer and perfo ...

Charley Straight Charles Theodore "Charley" Straight (January 16, 1891 – September 22, 1940) was an American pianist, bandleader and composer. Biography Straight started his career in 1909 accompanying singer Gene Greene in Vaudeville. In 1916, he began work ...

, and

Roy Bargy Roy Fredrick Bargy (July 31, 1894 – January 16, 1974) was an American composer and pianist. Biography Born in Newaygo, Michigan, he grew up in Toledo, Ohio. In 1919, he began working with Charley Straight at the Imperial Piano Roll Company in ...

Awards

Tony Paster's Theatre (sponsor) * January 23, 1900: Winner, Ragtime Piano Contest,

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

* January 30, 1906: Winner, Ragtime Piano Contest : Judges: Charlie Horwitz,

Harry Von Tilzer Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer. Early life Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...

, Gus Edwards

Selected discography

Mike Bernard (solo piano) * Columbia A-1266 : 38467-1 (

matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

) — "Everybody two-step", by

Wallie Herzer Wallie Herzer ''(né'' Walter Henry Herzer; 15 April 1885 San Francisco – 15 October 1961 Redwood City, California) was an American composer of popular music, music publisher, and pianist. Herzer flourished in music prior to and during World ...

; : Reissues (i) Vintage Jazz Mart (Europe) VLP2 & (ii)

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...

RF24 : Recorded in New York City December 2, 1912 : 38466 (

) — "Battle of San Juan Hill", composed by Mike Bernard; : Recorded in New York City, probably December 2, 1912 * Columbia A-1276; : 38465-1 (

) — "Fantasy on Pilgrims' Chorus from '' Tannhauser",'' "Finale to Rubinstein's ''E Flat Concerto";'' : Recorded in New York City December 2, 1912 : 38474-1 (

) — "Fantasy On Mendelssohn's Spring Song", " Rubinstein's Melody In F"; : Recorded in New York City December 4, 1912 * Columbia A-1313 : 38472-1 (

) — "That Peculiar Rag", by

Barney Fagan Barney Fagan (January 12, 1850 – January 12, 1937) was an American performer, director, choreographer, and composer. Career Barney Fagan was born as Bernard J. Fagan in Boston, son of Douglass and Ellen Fagan. His father was the deputy w ...

; : Recorded in New York City December 3, 1912 : 38478 (

) — "Medley Of Ted Snyder's Hits"; # Intro to "My Sweet Italian", by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

# "When The Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Albam' ", by

# "Ragtime Soldier Man", by

: Recorded in New York City, December 4, 1912 * Columbia A-1427 : Side A: 38829-2 (

) — "Maori", A Samoan dance; : Recorded in New York City, May 8, 1913 : Reissues (i)

Timeless Records Timeless Records is a jazz record label based in the Netherlands. Timeless was founded in Wageningen in 1975 by Wim Wigt. It has specialized in bebop, though it also did a sub-series of releases of Dixieland and swing recordings. As of 2000, th ...

(

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) CBC1-035 ( CD) : Side B: 38927-1 (

) — "1915 Rag", by

Harry Tierney Harry Austin Tierney (May 21, 1890 – March 22, 1965) was an American composer of musical theatre, best known for long-running hits such as ''Irene'' (1919), Broadway's longest-running show of the era (620 performances), ''Kid Boots'' (1923) and'' ...

; : Recorded in New York City, June 27, 1913 : Reissues (i)

RF33 (ii)

(

) CBC1-035 ( CD) * Columbia A-1386 : 38925 (

) — "Medley of Berlin Songs" : Recorded in New York City June 27, 1913 : 38928-1 (

) — "Tantalizing Tingles", by Sol Violinsky & Mike Bernard : Reissues (i)

RF23, Vintage Jazz Mart (Europe) VLP2 : Recorded in New York City June 27, 1913 * Columbia A-1590 : Side A: 38475 (

) — "A Trip Across The Pond — Introducing Old Irish And Scotch Airs"; : Side B: 38828 (

) — "Tango Bonita", by Maurice Smith; * Columbia A-2577 : 77780-1 (

) — "Blaze Away"; : Recorded in New York City April 25, 1918 : Reissues (i)

RF23,

(

) CBC1-035 : 77783 (

) — "When Alexander Takes His Ragtime Band To France", "Some One Else May Be There While I'm Gone"; : 77783-3 (

) — "

They Were All Out of Step But Jim "They Were All Out of Step But Jim" is an American World War I war song. It rose to popularity in 1918 when released by Billy Murray, charting at #3 in the United States. Description The song depicts a mother and father of a soldier gloating t ...

", by

: Recorded in New York City April 25, 1918

Personal

Married three times, he had three sons, one out of wedlock with Ziegfeld Follies girl Dorothy Zuckerman. He also had an intimate relationship with singer

Blossom Seeley Blossom Seeley (July 16, 1886 — April 17, 1974)
. ''gabrielleray.150m.com''. Retrieved 2010-10-2 ...

around 1908 to 1909. Bernard and his first wife, May Convery — with whom there are two marriage certificates in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

: February 25, 1897, and June 7, 1898 — had a son, Melvin Bernard (musician; born 1899). Bertram M. Bernard (lawyer; 1914–1988) was born to Dorothy Zuckerman, but there is no evidence of any marriage to Michael. Julius "Jules" Brown Bernard was born to his third wife, Katherine "Kitty" Stapleton, on October 9, 1921. One other wife, Florence Courtney of the Courtney Sisters, divorced Mike in 1916 after just over two years of marriage, as he was discovered with another female companion, and they were sharing a single pair of pajamas.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Mike 1875 births 1936 deaths American jazz musicians American ragtime musicians