Brun Campbell (March 26, 1884 – November 23, 1952) was an American composer and pianist.
Biography
Born Sanford Brunson Campbell in
Oberlin, Kansas
Oberlin is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,644.
History
Oberlin was platted in 1878. It was named after Oberlin, Ohio. Its first post office was established i ...
, he ran away to
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
when he was fifteen and met
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...
. For the next decade, he made his living as a traveling pianist in the
Midwestern
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...
and
Southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
United States. In 1908, he married and settled down to become a
barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
.
Toward the end of his life, he wrote about ragtime and made recordings. He died in
Venice, California
Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California.
Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...
. He is buried at
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.
Compositions
None of Campbell's compositions were copyrighted or published during his lifetime. However, they became known from recordings he made in the 1940s and early 1950s.
In 1993, Richard Egan, Jr. published ''Brun Campbell: The Music of "The Ragtime Kid"'', a collection of transcriptions of Campbell pieces.
In 2000,
David Thomas Roberts
David Thomas Roberts (born January 16, 1955) is an American composer and musician, known primarily as a modern ragtime composer. Roberts is also a painter in a primitivist style.
Born in Moss Point, Mississippi, United States, his first record ...
recorded an album of Campbell's music, which was released on CD by Pianomania Music Publishing of
Roseville, California
Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500. Interstate 80 runs through Roseville and State Rout ...
.
* "Barber Shop Rag"
* "Blue Rag"
* "Campbell Cakewalk"
* "Chestnut Street in the 90s"
* "Essay in Ragtime"
* "Ginger Snap Rag"
* "Grandpa's Stomp"
* "Rendezvous Rag"
* "Tent Show Rag"
* "Reminiscences"
* "Slow and Easy"
* "Salome Slow Drag"
* "Brun's Slow Dog"
* "Short Rag"
* "Frankie and Johnny Rag"
* "Grandpa's Stomp"
* "Lulu White"
* "Barrelhouse Rag"
In fiction
Brun Campbell is the subject of three novels by Larry Karp: ''The Ragtime Kid'', ''The King of Ragtime'', and ''The Ragtime Fool''.
See also
*
List of ragtime composers
A list of ragtime composers, including a famous or characteristic composition.
Pre-1940
*Felix Arndt (1889–1918), "Nola" (1916)
*May Aufderheide (1888–1972), "Dusty Rag" (1908)
* Roy Bargy (1894–1974), "Pianoflage" (1922)
* Harry Belding (1 ...
References
Other sources
*
*
1884 births
1952 deaths
American male composers
American composers
People from Oberlin, Kansas
Ragtime composers
American hairdressers
Ragtime pianists
American pianists
Barbers
American male pianists
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American pianists
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