Deering "Jack" Palmer
January 2021
Andrew Barrett wrote:
Paul Johnson and Todd Robbins and Mark Borowsky, relatively few black pianists got to make piano rolls before 1921 (when Aeolian contracted with Eubie Blake and QRS contracted with James P. Johnson), but it is well known that JPJ made several (for Aeolian, Standard and Artempo) in the 1917-1918 era, and Eubie Blake made a few (for Rythmodik/Ampico) also in about the 1917-1918 era. In addition, it is less well known (but should be) that Frederick M. Bryan made a few rolls for Aeolian in about 1912 on Uni-Record (and probably Metro-Art), two of which (not sure whether the only two?) "Daddy" and "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" are posted to Frank Himpsl's YouTube channel. He also made at least one more for Vocalstyle ("Checkers: It's Your Move Now") in about 1917 or 1919 which I have and which Bob Pinsker scanned for me a while back (I bought the late Mike Montgomery's copy off eBay; unsure whether other copies exist). Hughie Woolford also made at least one roll (probably more than one) for Tel-Electric in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which made player systems and rolls from about 1905 to 1917: "Dengozo" maxixe by Ernesto Nazareth.
The Tel-Electric rollography (Billings Rollography Vol. 6) unfortunately has a paucity of listed pianists, mainly because they were apparently listed on the roll BOXES which are frequently disintegrated and lost, and not stamped on the rolls themselves like the number and title.
So it is quite likely Hugh Woolford is on more, perhaps even many more, Tel-Electric rolls than those for which he is listed in that volume.
In addition to these pianists, of course Blind Boone made about 5 (?) rolls for QRS Autograph around 1912, which exist (in very small numbers) and have been recut. I have originals of two of these: "Gavotte Chromatic" and (I think) "Dixie" (need to double check that second one). Clarence M. Jones made a large number of rolls for Wurlitzer Rolla Artis 88-note rolls which were issued by them in the c. 1914-1918 era when that company was active. They are extremely rare today and Frank Himpsl's collection has probably the largest known grouping of them. I have just a few rolls on this label, I think about four or five, of which one is a duet by Clarence Jones and "Billie King" (Charley Straight): "When the Sun Goes Down in Dixie and the Moon Begins to Rise". Clarence Johnson started making rolls for U. S. Music around 1919, both under his real name and also as "Chet Gordon" (he was apparently known to some of his younger relatives as "Uncle Chet" according to the late Mike Montgomery). Many of these rolls still exist. Perhaps all of them can be found with enough diligent searching.
In addition, a presumably black pianist named "Wickersham Sanders" made a roll for QRS Autograph around 1916 or so of a sort of improvisation on "Old Black Joe". It's listed in Rob DeLand's QRS Autograph rollography, but I've never heard it nor do I know whether it has ever been recut. I can't remember the title. "Deering H. Palmer" who was reportedly another little-known Black pianist, made at least one or two rolls for Imperial in the late 'teens, including "Shake it and Break it" (supposedly not the jazz band piece, BUT I have never heard this roll). Finally, Lucille Hegamin's husband, pianist Bill Hegamin, made at least two superb and extremely rare rolls for the Standard Music Roll Co. of Orange, New Jersey around 1920, including "St. Louis Blues". Both are up on Frank Himpsl's YouTube channel.
To which I replied (in January 2021):
Well, the one artist on Andrew's list of Black roll artists of the teens that does not quite belong on that list is Deering H. Palmer. He was born in Nashville, May 29, 1899, as evidenced by this correction to his birth certificate:
Birth record for Deering Hill Palmer May 29 1899 crop.jpg
You can see the problem with his being on that list - he was white. In fact, here's a photo of Deering H. Palmer:
Headshot of Deering Palmer
Here's his entry in the 1900 census. It actually does not seem to have been Nashville where Deering was born, but the tiny town of Fowlkes, TN, in Dyer County. His father Walter seems to have been a minister of some kind. One of their boarders was a music teacher.
Deering Palmer in 1900 census
Here he is in 1910. By this time, his father is in the piano business!
Deering Palmer in 1910 census. Notice the family is living in Memphis by 1910.
Here is his WWI draft card. The significance of this, particularly, is that he is working as a salesman for Adam Schaaf, presumably the piano company. So here's the first musical/piano occupation for Deering.
Deering Hill Palmer WWI Draft Card
And his WWII draft registration explicitly states that he uses the name "Jack Palmer" as his pen name!
Deering Hill Palmer WWII draft card
Deering Hill Palmer evidently retired to Woodbury, Connecticut, where he died on March 17, 1976. I haven't found an obituary yet. [N.B. See below] His entry in the second edition (1952) of the ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, as "Jack Palmer", has got to be the same guy, though it lists his date of birth as May 29, 1900, not 1899, but it's Tennessee, and he says he went to schools in Memphis. Note the slight confusion about 1899 or 1900 even on his WWII draft registration.
Jack Palmer in 1952 ASCAP Biographical Dictionary
I found a very straightforward statement about Jack Palmer. Evidently Willie the Lion Smith mentioned in a tribute to his friend Clarence Williams ("In My Opinion", Jazz Journal, July 1966, Vol. 19, No. 7, p. 7) the following: "[Clarence Williams] helped Jack Palmer, the white fellow who wrote the lyrics to 'Found A New Baby' and he helped everybody who wrote any jazz tunes in those days."
Also, in Tom Lord's "Clarence Williams" (Storyville, 1976), on page 493, Palmer is listed as "Jack (Dearing)[sic] PALMER - composer" and a list of 16 songs co-written by Palmer that were published by Clarence Williams Music Publishing follows. Palmer most frequently collaborated with the ubiquitous Spencer Williams.
The roll Deering H. Palmer made of "Shake It and Break It", as played by Mike Montgomery in that wonderful seminar that Adam G. Swanson so kindly posted only about a week ago [January 2021], for Imperial, is of "Weary Blues" by Artie Matthews. A whole interesting study could be made of the fact that "Shake It and Break It" has often been applied to "Weary Blues", from very early on, and I wonder whether it's possible that Matthews in 1915 was notating and arranging what might have been already well-known in some circles, sometimes as "Shake It and Break It". The totally confounding thing is that there is the other, unrelated, tune, by Lou Chiha. Here's a discussion about that confusion:
https://playing-traditional-jazz.blogspot.com/2017/02/post-474-shake-it-and-break-sorting-out.html
I would add that the simple tune that is often called "Shake It and Break It", for example by blues singer Charlie Patton, and played by bands such as Preservation Hall, is sort of related to the last strain of "Weary Blues". The thing that all these "Shake It and Break It" tunes have in common is the basic lyric idea about Shake It, Break It, Hang it on the Wall. I guess that the lyricist for Lou Chiha's tune just adapted that well-known (probably folk) lyric for the trio of that 3-part tune, which led to the confusion.
Additions [January 2022]
Jack Palmer obit Hartford_Courant_Fri__Mar_19__1976_page 5