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Ringtail Blues

Wilbur Sweatman's
Original Jazz Band

Dan Parrish, Henry Bowser, Major Jackson, Wilbur Sweatman, William Smith

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Recorded in New York City on December 4th 1918 featuring William 'Crickett' Smith trumpet, Major Jackson trombone, Wilbur Sweatman clarinet & leader, Dan Parrish piano, and Henry Bowser drums.

*"Ringtail Blues" was composed by J. Russel Robinson and Spencer Williams.

Clarinetist and bandleader Wilbur Sweatman was a among the first African-American musicians to develop a nationwide fan base and was also pioneering in the racial integration of musical groups. By the age of nineteen he became the youngest orchestra leader in America fronting the "Forepaugh and Sells Circus Band." He also played for a brief stint with W. C. Handy's band. In 1903 Sweatman made his first recordings on phonograph cylinder at the Metropolitan Music Store in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Included among these cylinders is the first recorded version of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag." In 1911 he wrote "Down Home Rag" the tune that would become his biggest commercial success.