Thomas Million John Turpin (November 18, 1871 – August 13, 1922) was an African American composer 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 J ...
music.
Tom Turpin was born in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
, a son of John L. Turpin and Lulu Waters Turpin. In his early twenties he opened a saloon in
St. Louis, Missouri which became a meeting-place for local pianists and an incubation point for early folk ragtime, such as musician
Joe Jordan
Joseph Jordan (born 15 December 1951) is a Scottish football player, coach and manager. He is currently a first-team coach at AFC Bournemouth.
A former striker, he played for Leeds United, Manchester United, and Milan, among others at club ...
. Turpin himself is credited with the first published rag by an African-American, his "Harlem Rag" of 1897 (it was composed by 1892, a year before ragtime's introduction to the world at the
1893 Worlds Fair). His other published rags include "Bowery Buck," "Ragtime Nightmare," "St. Louis Rag," and "The Buffalo Rag".
Turpin was a large man, six feet (1.83 m) tall and 300 pounds (136 kg); his piano had to be raised on blocks so that he could play it standing up, otherwise his stomach would get in the way. In addition to his saloon-keeping duties and his ragtime composition, he controlled (with his brother Charles) a theater, gambling houses, dance halls, and sporting houses. He served as a deputy constable and was one of the first politically powerful
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
s in St. Louis. His influence on local music earned him the title "Father of St. Louis Ragtime."
Date
Turpin's date of birth is uncertain; both 1871 and 1873 appear in published sources. His gravestone
says simply 1871. The 1900 Federal Census for the city of St. Louis (Enumeration District 220, Sheet 9, Line 79) listed his birthdate as "November 1871", but on his draft registration card he wrote November 18, 1874. However, some historians believe he was born in 1873.
See also
*
List of ragtime composers
References
External links
*
*
St. Louis Rag audio recording from the Library of Congress jukeboxThe Buffalo Rag audio recording from the Library of Congress jukebox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turpin, Tom
1871 births
1922 deaths
African-American composers
African-American male composers
Drinking establishment owners
Ragtime composers
Writers from Savannah, Georgia
20th-century African-American people