Charley Straight
Encyclopedia
Charles Theodore Straight (January 16, 1891 – September 22, 1940), better known as Charley Straight, was an American
pianist
, bandleader
and composer
. He started his career in 1909 accompanying singer Gene Greene
in Vaudeville
. In 1916 he began working at the Imperial Piano Roll Company in Chicago
were he recorded dozens of piano rolls. He became a popular bandleader
in Chicago
during the 1920s. His band the Charley Straight Orchestra had a long term engagement at the Rendezvous Café from 1922 to 1925 and recorded for Paramount Records
and Brunswick Records
in the 1920s.
It was during the 1920s that Straight worked with Roy Bargy
on the latter's eight Piano Syncopations. In describing "Rufenreddy", the fifth in the series, ragtime historian "Perfessor" Bill Edwards has stated:
Straight died in Chicago
on the evening of September 22, 1940 after being struck by a car. At the time, Straight was working as a sanitary inspector for the city of Chicago, and was emerging from a manhole in the street.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He started his career in 1909 accompanying singer Gene Greene
Gene Greene
Eugene Delbert Greene , better known as Gene Greene was an American entertainer, singer and composer, nicknamed The Ragtime King. He was a vaudeville star and made some of the earliest sound recordings of scat singing in 1911 for Columbia Records and Victor Records and was a popular Ragtime performer...
in Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
. In 1916 he began working at the Imperial Piano Roll Company in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
were he recorded dozens of piano rolls. He became a popular bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
during the 1920s. His band the Charley Straight Orchestra had a long term engagement at the Rendezvous Café from 1922 to 1925 and recorded for Paramount Records
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
and Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
in the 1920s.
It was during the 1920s that Straight worked with Roy Bargy
Roy Bargy
Roy Fredrick Bargy was an American composer and pianist.Born in Newaygo, Michigan, he grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where he was exposed to the music of pianists Johnny Walters and Luckey Roberts. In 1919 he began working with Charley Straight at the Imperial Piano Roll Company in Chicago, performing,...
on the latter's eight Piano Syncopations. In describing "Rufenreddy", the fifth in the series, ragtime historian "Perfessor" Bill Edwards has stated:
- The actual parentage of this piece will likely remain obscured to some degree, since Bargy's collaborator, Charley Straight, more or less may have let Bargy take credit when the piano rolls of the Eight Piano Syncopations were transcribed into sheet music form. It is likely that Straight wrote the bulk of the composition in 1918, and Bargy added many of his individual touches to it in the performance, the end result being that there is some of each of them within.
Straight died in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on the evening of September 22, 1940 after being struck by a car. At the time, Straight was working as a sanitary inspector for the city of Chicago, and was emerging from a manhole in the street.
Selected Compositions
- Rufenreddy
- Knice and Knifty
- Playmor
- Itsit
- Blue Grass Rag
- Let's Go
- Humpty Dumpty
- Hot Hands
- Sweet Pickin's
- Wild And Wooly
- S'more
- Nifty Nonsense
- Black Jack Rag
- Rag-A-Bit
- Fastep
- Dippy Ditty
- Lazy Bones
- Out Steppin'
- My Baby's Rag
- Universal Rag
- Mow 'Em Down
- Try Me
- Red Raven Rag
- Mocking Bird Rag