Arthur Pryor

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the American bandleader. For the Australian physicist, see A. W. Pryor. For the logician and philosopher, see Arthur Prior.
Pryor with his trombone in 1920

Arthur Willard Pryor (September 22, 1869 – June 18, 1942) was a

Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders
during the 1930s.

Early life and education

He was born on September 22, 1869, on the second floor of the Lyceum Theater in

Saint Joseph, Missouri.[2] He was the son of Samuel Pryor, bandmaster and founder of the original Pryor band, and his wife. Arthur first took up music at a very young age under the tutelage of his father and was playing the valve trombone by age 11. The story goes that whenever he hit a sour note while practicing, his father planted a resounding crack on his head with a violin bow. The boy developed until he was so skilled that he won a place in the John Philip Sousa's band. He was hailed as a prodigy
after this.

Musical career

Pryor went on to direct the

Denver, Colorado, until joining the John Philip Sousa Band in 1892. He played his first solo with the Sousa Band at age 22 during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. During his 12 years with the Sousa Band, Pryor estimated that he played 10,000 solos. From 1895 to 1903, Pryor was assistant conductor of the Sousa Band. During his association with the "March King", Pryor toured throughout the USA and Europe. While in Europe, he entertained King Edward VII of England and Czar Nicholas II of Russia with his trombone solos. Once while in Germany, all the trombonists of the German Army bands were ordered to hear him play. They were so amazed at his playing that they insisted on taking his trombone apart, refusing to believe that it was natural. Finally one German said: "No one can play so well. It is a Yankee trick."[3]

In 1902 after the death of his father, Pryor ended his association with Sousa and took over the reorganized Pryor band; he led its debut at the

Coney Island, New York
, for a number of years.

Post-conducting career and death

Pryor retired from full-time conducting in 1933. On November 7 of that year, he and

Edgar O. Murphy.[5]

Pryor was married to Maude Russell Pryor. Their son Roger Pryor (1901–1974) also became a bandleader and a film actor.[1][6] They also had sons Arthur Jr., who became a bandsman and advertising executive, and Samuel Pryor.

The senior Pryor suffered a stroke on June 17, 1942, and died on June 18 at his home in West Long Branch, New Jersey.[3] Funeral services were conducted June 21, 1942, at the Trinity Episcopal Church, Asbury Park, followed by burial in Glenwood Cemetery, West Long Branch.

Legacy

Pryor composed some 300 works, including marches, novelties, tone poems and three light operas, Jinga Boo, Uncle Tom's Cabin and On the Eve of Her Wedding Day. Among his best-known numbers were "On Jersey Shore", "Queen Titania" and "The Whistler and His Dog". He set to work on an opera titled Peter and Paul, with a libretto by L. Frank Baum; the libretto has been lost. It was intended to star Fred Stone and David Montgomery in several roles in several time periods.[7]

During his career, Pryor wrote some of today's most well-known trombone literature, including an arrangement of the heralded "Bluebells of Scotland", as well as band novelty works such as "The Whistler and His Dog", with its piccolo solo, his best-known composition.[1] Much of this literature has been recorded by Ian Bousfield on his CD Pryor Engagement (Doyen DOY CD212).

In 1985, thousands of early Pryor scores were discovered by conductor

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra.[8]

Media

That Flying Rag
Arthur Pryor's "That Flying Rag" performed by Arthur Pryor's Band in 1911. Arrangement by Louis-Philippe Laurendeau.
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Blue Bells of Scotland, for Trombone and Band (As performed by Arthur Pryor and Sousa's band)
Problems playing this file? See media help.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Arthur Pryor, Bandsman, Dies" (June 18, 1942) Emporia Daily Gazette, Emporia, Kansas
  2. ^ While 1870 has been traditionally noted, Arthur is listed as a few months old in the January, 1870 Federal census taken in St. Joseph, Missouri, so was clearly born in 1869.
  3. ^ a b "The Final Curtain: Artur Pryor" (obituary), Billboard, June 27, 1942, p. 25
  4. ^ The Matawan Journal, Nov. 10, 1933
  5. ^ Red Bank Register, Nov. 5, 1936
  6. ^ Roger Pryor at IMDb
  7. OCLC 1038163226, 1716027, 560320332
  8. ^ "Old movie, live music to pair," The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa), Feb 13, 2011

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Pryor&oldid=1216668652"