Charley Thompson - Real St. Louis Ragtime

The late, great musician and collector Mike Montgomery gave me these very hard-to-find 78s, and I decided it was high time I shared them with YouTube. To my knowledge, only two of these sides have ever been reissued and never on CD. Charles H. Thompson (1891-1964) was a black ragtime pianist and composer from St. Louis. His style was a unique combination of classic St. Louis ragtime influences and that of stride pianists on the East Coast, where at one time he was the only black pianist on Broadway. World-renowned ragtime musician and scholar Trebor Tichenor was a personal friend of Thompson's and provided some of the photographs you see here. Photo of Trebor and Charley Thompson courtesy of Peter Lundberg.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Ragtime
• Early
• Jazz
• Stride
• Novelty
• Piano
• Charley
• Thompson
• Lily
• Rag
• Tom
• Turpin
• Trebor
• Tichenor
• St.
• Louis
• Ragtimers

[pianiplunker]

I posted Thompson's later Delmark recording of Derby Stomp and Joplin's Leola on my channel. I'm sure you know them already.

[pianiplunker]

Wow, I've never heard these recordings and I thought I heard all of Thompson's recordings. I still think Thompson's finest recordings were released on American Music's Album called piano players along with New Orleans pianist Dink Johnson. Thompson recorded all the compositions here, without drums, and accompanied a blues singer who's name I can't recall.

His later recordings released on the Delmark Label are very interesting too.

[MooPotPie]

What more evidence is needed to prove that when the music says 2/4 time the composer meant "in two"????? Sounds like African-American dance music, doesn't it? LOL

[alexcortot]

Great upload ! Thanks a lot !

[KawhackitaRag]

I would bet anything that Charley Thompson knew Henry Brown and certainly both men were brought out of musical retirement in the 1950s and 1960s to record again. Why don't you ask Trebor Tichenor? I'll bet he may have even met Henry Brown at some point. You can hear some of Mr. Brown's recordings here on Youtube, both solo and also accompanying singers such as Mary Johnson and Robert Peeples. He is not to be confused with "Hi" Henry Brown.

[KawhackitaRag]

I'm really digging "Derby Stomp" and "Lingering Blues". What really gets me are Charley Thompson's right-hand figures (I mean his "blues figures" I guess you could call them, not his usualy trademark ones he uses in rags and everything else). I guess these must have been the St. Louis and/or Chicago style of playing, since they are used by Henry Brown (a very fine St. Louis blues pianist who recorded from the 20s through the 60s) and also by James Blythe, who accompanied Priscilla Stewart there.

[KawhackitaRag]

Thanks for posting these fantastic recordings of the man himself! Hearing this in such good fidelity, with him still in in his prime and playing brilliantly, this really sonically takes me (and all other listeners) back to the old days... this is how it really sounded!!! Anyone attempting to play ragtime authentically today (or at least CLAIMING to play it authentically) HAS to listen to these recordings and dig them!!!

I know I'M digging "Delmar Rag" a lot, since I'm working on that one!

[ThaRemco]

Adam, really tnx for this! :)

[ThaRemco]

@ragtimemax it's just really awesome that there are people like you, i'm gonna upload my rag playing soon :)

but if you press like on a vid, it's always interesting :)

[ragtimemax]

Thompson at his recorded finest.