WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.240 Imagine you're sitting at a bar in Atlantic City, 00:00:03.379 --> 00:00:05.879 New Jersey. Okay, I'm there. Right. And it's 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.380 the early 20th century. It's this gorgeous night. 00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:10.679 You know, the moon is streaming over the ocean. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.119 You're enjoying that nice salt breeze. I'm perfect. 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:15.640 It really does. And you're just ordering yourself 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:18.519 another cold beer. But suddenly you hear some 00:00:18.519 --> 00:00:21.339 guy nearby ask the orchestra to play a piece 00:00:21.339 --> 00:00:24.480 called Moonlight Bay. Oh, wow. Yeah. But you 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:27.600 pause because you realize you're completely mistaken. 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:31.260 Nobody requested it. And you know nobody requested 00:00:31.260 --> 00:00:34.000 it for one simple reason. Because there is no 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:36.320 such song. Exactly. There is literally no such 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:38.619 song. But instead of just sipping your beer and, 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.539 you know, forgetting about the whole thing, you 00:00:40.539 --> 00:00:42.159 think to yourself, well, that's a swell title. 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:44.479 A very swell title. Right. You think, I'm going 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:46.140 to go home and write that right now. And you 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:48.840 actually do. Which is just a phenomenal origin 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:52.439 story for a melody that would go on to become 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:55.700 an absolute American classic. Yeah, it really 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:58.560 is. And I think it perfectly encapsulates the 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.939 creative, opportunistic mind of the man we're 00:01:01.939 --> 00:01:05.500 looking at today. Exactly. Welcome to today's 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:08.480 Deep Dive. Today we're exploring the life and 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:11.599 this incredibly sprawling catalog of Percy Wenrich. 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:14.159 A man famously known throughout his lifetime 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.879 as... The Joplin Kid. The Joplin Kid, yes. We're 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:20.260 pulling our facts today from a really comprehensive 00:01:20.260 --> 00:01:23.319 Wikipedia article. It details his whole life, 00:01:23.420 --> 00:01:26.560 his massive array of ragtime works, and his theatrical 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.120 career. There's a lot to cover. There is. Our 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:31.599 mission for this deep dive is to figure out how 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:33.959 a young boy from southwest Missouri transformed 00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:36.719 into this total musical powerhouse. We're talking 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:39.120 about a guy who sold millions of copies of sheet 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.640 music. Millions. And he helped shape the entire 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:44.930 ragtime and vaudeville eras. Plus, he somehow 00:01:44.930 --> 00:01:47.670 managed to adapt to decades of incredibly rapid 00:01:47.670 --> 00:01:50.209 changes in American entertainment. And that adaptation 00:01:50.209 --> 00:01:52.790 really is the core of his legacy. Because to 00:01:52.790 --> 00:01:55.030 truly understand this story, you really have 00:01:55.030 --> 00:01:56.930 to understand what it meant to be a composer 00:01:56.930 --> 00:01:59.170 during this specific window of history. Right. 00:01:59.209 --> 00:02:01.900 The landscape was completely shifting. Exactly. 00:02:01.939 --> 00:02:04.219 We're talking about the transition from a world 00:02:04.219 --> 00:02:07.079 where music was primarily an active household 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:10.159 activity. You know, it was consumed as printed 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:12.139 sheet music played on the parlor piano at home. 00:02:12.259 --> 00:02:14.360 You had to actually play it yourself. Right. 00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:17.759 And he survives the transition from that era 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:21.180 into the golden age of live volume stages and 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:23.419 eventually all the way into the era of recorded 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:26.919 audio, radio and film. It was an incredibly turbulent 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:29.039 time for the entertainment industry. Totally. 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:31.219 Formats were dying and being born overnight. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.419 Surviving that meat grinder required a very specific 00:02:34.419 --> 00:02:36.819 kind of genius. Okay, let's unpack this. We have 00:02:36.819 --> 00:02:38.800 to start in the very beginning to see where that 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:40.780 genius actually came from. Back to Missouri. 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:43.639 Back to Missouri. Yep. Percy Wenrich was born 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:47.669 in Joplin, Missouri in January 1880. to Daniel 00:02:47.669 --> 00:02:49.930 Wenrich and Mary Ray. And right away, you look 00:02:49.930 --> 00:02:51.650 at his background and see that music was just 00:02:51.650 --> 00:02:54.009 in his blood. Yeah, he was raised in southwest 00:02:54.009 --> 00:02:56.250 Missouri, which was a region heavily influenced 00:02:56.250 --> 00:03:00.169 by classic and folk ragtime. But his first formal 00:03:00.169 --> 00:03:02.530 instruction actually came directly from his mother. 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:05.169 She was quite well known locally, actually. Oh, 00:03:05.189 --> 00:03:07.120 she really? Yeah, people refer to her as the 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:09.639 Berry County pianist. Oh, I love that. Right. 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:12.900 She gave young Percy his very first piano and 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:16.240 organ lessons. So from a really early age, he 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:18.139 wasn't just banging on the keys. He was actually 00:03:18.139 --> 00:03:20.979 learning the mechanics. Exactly. He was getting 00:03:20.979 --> 00:03:24.000 a highly solid foundational musical education 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.400 right in his living room. But it wasn't just 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.199 him and his mom. It was a total family affair. 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:32.300 By the time he's a teenager, he's already composing 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:34.780 his own original tunes. And his father is stepping 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:36.780 in. to write the lyrics for him. Right, so he's 00:03:36.780 --> 00:03:39.860 writing music as a teenager with his dad. But 00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:41.919 who is he actually playing this for? I mean, 00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:44.639 was there a real market for a kid playing piano 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:48.219 in 1890s Missouri? There was a massive market, 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:50.900 actually. But it might not be the one you'd expect. 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:52.919 Okay, where was it? It was in local politics. 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:55.770 Politics. Yeah. There's this fascinating detail 00:03:55.770 --> 00:03:58.969 from a 1949 issue of Billboard magazine that's 00:03:58.969 --> 00:04:02.330 cited in our source material. It turns out Wenrich's 00:04:02.330 --> 00:04:06.250 early father -son collaborations eulogize democratic 00:04:06.250 --> 00:04:09.669 stalwarts of the era, specifically Grover Cleveland 00:04:09.669 --> 00:04:12.650 and William Jennings Bryan. Now, real quick, 00:04:12.710 --> 00:04:14.349 I want to jump in here and just be crystal clear 00:04:14.349 --> 00:04:18.069 for you listening. We are absolutely not taking 00:04:18.069 --> 00:04:21.410 any sides or endorsing the viewpoints or platforms 00:04:21.410 --> 00:04:24.790 of those late 19th century politicians. Oh, absolutely 00:04:24.790 --> 00:04:27.029 not. We're strictly reporting the historical 00:04:27.029 --> 00:04:30.209 facts from the source material here. 100%. We're 00:04:30.209 --> 00:04:32.449 just looking at how music functioned as a tool 00:04:32.449 --> 00:04:35.120 back then. Right. Because it's fascinating to 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.680 look back at this as pure history. Whether it 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:40.519 was Cleveland or Bryan, music was just a massive 00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:44.420 utilitarian political tool. It really was. For 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:46.519 Wenrich, it wasn't about the politics at all. 00:04:46.579 --> 00:04:48.879 It was about getting a gig and getting his melodies 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:52.139 in front of a roaring crowd. Precisely. You have 00:04:52.139 --> 00:04:54.579 to remember, this is the era before public address 00:04:54.579 --> 00:04:57.139 systems and microphones. Oh, right. No amps. 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:00.379 No amps. If you wanted to rally a massive crowd 00:05:00.379 --> 00:05:02.980 at a political convention, you needed volume 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:04.899 and you needed catchy repetitions. You needed 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:07.920 an earworm. Exactly. These customized political 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:11.339 songs were sung at rallies by glee clubs that 00:05:11.339 --> 00:05:13.579 were organized right there on the spot. Just 00:05:13.579 --> 00:05:17.500 spontaneous glee clubs. It's wild. It was standard 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:20.579 practice for campaigning. And it gave young Percy 00:05:20.579 --> 00:05:23.699 a master class in how to write a hook that could 00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:26.759 capture a crowd's attention instantly. And around 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:29.000 the same time, he also joins a local minstrel 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:31.339 group. That's where he really starts to cut his 00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:34.199 teeth on cakewalks and ragtime melodies. Foundational 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:36.040 stuff. Right. And for those of you who might 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:39.019 not know, cakewalks were these highly syncopated 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:42.620 theatrical dances that really laid the rhythmic 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:45.959 groundwork for the ragtime explosion. And that 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:48.560 combination of his local Missouri roots and this 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:52.300 undeniable talent is what earns him his nickname 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:55.500 around town. The Joplin Kid. The Joplin Kid. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:57.319 I just love that name so much. It sounds like 00:05:57.319 --> 00:05:59.560 a gunslinger from an old western. But instead 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:01.319 of the six -shooter, he's armed with a piano. 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:04.000 Right, exactly. And he clearly knew how to market 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.139 himself early on, too. He published his first 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:08.740 musical work at the age of 17. Which is incredibly 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:10.939 young to be published back then. It is. It was 00:06:10.939 --> 00:06:13.740 a piece titled L 'Encanou, and Wenrich himself 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:16.620 described it simply as a two -step with a fancy 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:19.399 title. A two -step with a fancy title. Yeah. 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:22.439 And again, just for context, a two -step was 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:25.540 a very popular, simple ballroom dance of the 00:06:25.540 --> 00:06:28.160 era. He knew exactly what the people wanted to 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:30.779 dance to. But Southwest Missouri couldn't hold 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:34.680 the Joplin kid forever. No, it couldn't. By 1901, 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:38.240 he makes a massive leap. He packs up and moves 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.379 to Chicago. Which was a booming metropolis. Huge. 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:44.620 Yeah. A major hub for the arts. He attends classes 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:46.800 at the Chicago Musical College. That was run 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:49.920 by Florin Ziegfeld Sr., right? Yes. The father 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:52.600 of the famous Broadway impresario. That's the 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:54.939 one. And while he's there, Wenrich continues 00:06:54.939 --> 00:06:57.439 to study the organ formally with a teacher named 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:00.560 Louis Falk. Oh, okay. But he's not just a student. 00:07:00.579 --> 00:07:02.500 I mean, he has to make a living. So he starts 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:04.370 hustling. What kind of hustle? He works for the 00:07:04.370 --> 00:07:06.449 McKinley Music Company as a melody writer, and 00:07:06.449 --> 00:07:08.889 he gets a job selling sheet music at Gimble's 00:07:08.889 --> 00:07:11.110 department store. I want to pause on that Gimble's 00:07:11.110 --> 00:07:13.069 job, because he wasn't just standing behind a 00:07:13.069 --> 00:07:15.629 cash register handing over paper, right? Not 00:07:15.629 --> 00:07:18.310 at all. Yeah. He was likely working as what they 00:07:18.310 --> 00:07:20.910 called a song plugger. A song plugger. Yeah. 00:07:21.209 --> 00:07:24.449 Back then, department stores sold sheet music 00:07:24.449 --> 00:07:27.649 by having a pianist basically pound away at the 00:07:27.649 --> 00:07:30.439 keys all day long. Just playing constantly in 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.459 the store. Playing the newest tunes so shoppers 00:07:33.459 --> 00:07:35.079 could hear them before they bought the sheet 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:37.500 music to take home. Wow. You had to play loud, 00:07:37.620 --> 00:07:39.740 you had to play fast, and you really had to sell 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:42.100 the song with your performance. So he is literally 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:44.180 surrounding himself with the music business from 00:07:44.180 --> 00:07:46.639 every possible angle. Every angle. He's writing 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:49.240 it. He's starting its complex theory in college, 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:52.139 and he's aggressively selling it over the counter 00:07:52.139 --> 00:07:54.120 to everyday people. What's the perfect training 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:57.620 ground? It really is. By 1903, he starts writing 00:07:57.620 --> 00:08:00.680 ragtime works in earnest. His first is called 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:03.459 Ashy Africa, and that's followed by pieces like 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:06.939 Peaches and Cream in 1905. Then Persian Lamb 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:11.680 Rag in 1908. And Ragtime Chimes in 1912. What's 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.959 fascinating here is the duality of his musical 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:16.730 education. How do you mean? Well... you have 00:08:16.730 --> 00:08:19.129 a young man who is formally studying the organ 00:08:19.129 --> 00:08:22.490 that's an instrument requiring immense discipline 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:25.829 coordination and a deep understanding of complex 00:08:25.829 --> 00:08:28.790 musical theory right But he's combining that 00:08:28.790 --> 00:08:31.829 rigid formal discipline with the syncopated, 00:08:31.829 --> 00:08:35.769 lively, improvisational feel of the folk ragtime 00:08:35.769 --> 00:08:38.090 he picked up back in the saloons and minstrel 00:08:38.090 --> 00:08:41.049 shows of Missouri. Ah, I see. That combination 00:08:41.049 --> 00:08:44.149 of formal structure and populist appeal is what 00:08:44.149 --> 00:08:47.169 created his totally unique skill set. It made 00:08:47.169 --> 00:08:49.669 his music structurally sound, yet incredibly 00:08:49.669 --> 00:08:52.809 catchy. And that catchiness translated to massive 00:08:52.809 --> 00:08:56.610 success. I mean, take his 1907 instrumental piece, 00:08:56.809 --> 00:09:00.570 The Smiler. Oh, huge. It was subtitled A Joplin 00:09:00.570 --> 00:09:02.870 Rag, and it became his absolute bestselling rag 00:09:02.870 --> 00:09:05.909 without lyrics. A huge hit. But... As successful 00:09:05.909 --> 00:09:08.490 as he was on his own as a composer, his life 00:09:08.490 --> 00:09:11.090 and his career were about to be completely transformed 00:09:11.090 --> 00:09:13.470 by a chance meeting. Enter Dolly Connolly. Enter 00:09:13.470 --> 00:09:17.970 Dolly. In 1905, Wenrich meets this dynamic vaudeville 00:09:17.970 --> 00:09:20.269 performer. They hit it off instantly. Instantly. 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:23.960 They're married on July 3rd, 1906. And Dolly 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:26.379 really becomes his ultimate muse. Without a doubt. 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:29.059 He wrote some of his biggest hits specifically 00:09:29.059 --> 00:09:32.059 for her to perform. We're talking Red Rose Rag, 00:09:32.379 --> 00:09:35.399 Alamo Rag, and of course the song we tease at 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:37.600 the very beginning of this deep dive. Moonlight 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:39.899 Bay. Moonlight Bay. Which brings us right back 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:42.840 to that Atlantic City bar. Exactly. That story 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:45.519 I told you earlier, that's exactly how Wenrich 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:47.799 himself recalled it in the historical record. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.539 He's just having a beer. Having a beer. thought 00:09:50.539 --> 00:09:52.980 he heard a request for Moonlight Bay, realized 00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:55.779 it was a mistake, and went home to write it just 00:09:55.779 --> 00:09:57.440 because he thought it was a swell title. And 00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:59.759 it became a phenomenal hit. Massive. It really 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:02.700 highlights his commercial instinct. He didn't 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:05.700 sit around waiting for divine inspiration to 00:10:05.700 --> 00:10:09.259 strike. He literally plucked a good phrase out 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:12.360 of thin air, recognized its marketing potential, 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.519 and used his technical skill to craft a hit around 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.450 it. He knew what would sell. Exactly. And we 00:10:18.450 --> 00:10:20.789 really need to put the sheer scale of his success 00:10:20.789 --> 00:10:23.590 during this period into perspective because it's 00:10:23.590 --> 00:10:26.009 staggering. The numbers are unbelievable. They 00:10:26.009 --> 00:10:28.250 really are. Before we even get to the streaming 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:31.509 era or mass radio syndication, we're talking 00:10:31.509 --> 00:10:36.730 about physical printed sheet music. His 1907 00:10:36.730 --> 00:10:40.230 song, Rainbow, or Come Be My Rainbow, sold over 00:10:40.230 --> 00:10:42.870 a million copies. Does that sink in? Yeah. Over 00:10:42.870 --> 00:10:45.019 a million people went out. spent their hard -earned 00:10:45.019 --> 00:10:47.720 money on a piece of paper. Right. And took it 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.159 home to physically play it on their own pianos. 00:10:50.659 --> 00:10:53.100 Selling a million copies of sheet music didn't 00:10:53.100 --> 00:10:55.620 just bring him fame, it brought him the capital 00:10:55.620 --> 00:10:58.259 to make the ultimate leap. Moving to New York. 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:01.919 Exactly. By 1909, he and Dolly took that rainbow 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:04.240 money and headed straight to the epicenter of 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:07.059 the music publishing world, New York City. Right. 00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:09.519 But he didn't just coast when he got there. He 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.460 ended up working at Leo Feist Publishing, which 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:12.919 is where he wrote one of his biggest selling 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:16.730 songs ever. When you wore a tulip and I wore 00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:18.950 a big red rose. A classic. You know how many 00:11:18.950 --> 00:11:21.269 copies that one sold? Over two million copies. 00:11:21.529 --> 00:11:23.529 Two million. Two million pieces of sheet music. 00:11:23.809 --> 00:11:26.389 It's a testament to how perfectly tuned he was 00:11:26.389 --> 00:11:29.149 to the public's taste. But what I find equally 00:11:29.149 --> 00:11:32.149 compelling is his dedication to Dolly and their 00:11:32.149 --> 00:11:36.309 act. In 1913, Wenrich decided to become an entrepreneur. 00:11:36.769 --> 00:11:40.129 He started his own music publishing firm. with 00:11:40.129 --> 00:11:43.009 a businessman named Homer Howard. Right on Broadway. 00:11:43.289 --> 00:11:45.289 Right on Broadway. They'd publish a few hits, 00:11:45.370 --> 00:11:48.090 like Whipped Cream Rag. Yeah. He had a booming 00:11:48.090 --> 00:11:50.950 business. A booming Broadway business. But then, 00:11:50.950 --> 00:11:55.309 just a year later, in 1914, he completely dissolves 00:11:55.309 --> 00:11:57.470 the firm. Shuts it down. He shuts down his own 00:11:57.470 --> 00:11:59.590 successful Broadway publishing company. Why? 00:12:00.009 --> 00:12:03.490 To devote his time exclusively to writing for 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:06.519 and performing with. Dolly. Incredible. He even 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:08.879 accompanied her as a recording star with Columbia 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.000 Records. He transitioned from being a behind 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:13.340 the scenes composer and publisher to being an 00:12:13.340 --> 00:12:16.080 active touring performer, just directly supporting 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:18.159 his wife's career. I mean, I want you listening 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:20.559 to just imagine the dedication that takes to 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:22.720 have a lucrative, successful business on Broadway 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:25.559 and to say, you know what? No. Right. My partner's 00:12:25.559 --> 00:12:27.539 creative journey and our act together is more 00:12:27.539 --> 00:12:29.899 important. He dissolved the firm to be with her. 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:32.039 And they were a sensation. They were massive 00:12:32.039 --> 00:12:35.490 stars. Yeah. Our source shares this glowing review 00:12:35.490 --> 00:12:40.070 from the Toronto World in 1916. They were performing 00:12:40.070 --> 00:12:42.929 Sweet Cider Time, which is a song he wrote, and 00:12:42.929 --> 00:12:45.429 the review notes that the composer and singer 00:12:45.429 --> 00:12:48.769 had to respond to several recalls. People wouldn't 00:12:48.769 --> 00:12:50.809 let them leave the stage. The audience absolutely 00:12:50.809 --> 00:12:53.720 insisted on an encore. They were the undisputed 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:55.799 darlings of the vaudeville circuit, traveling 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.120 from city to city, packing theaters. But, as 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:01.039 we know, the vaudeville era didn't last forever. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:04.019 No, it didn't. Taste changed, technology advances. 00:13:04.299 --> 00:13:06.580 And this is where Wenrich's ability to adapt 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:09.940 is really put to the test. In the early 1920s, 00:13:09.940 --> 00:13:13.340 the couple moved to the Lambs Club on West 44th 00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:15.960 Street in Manhattan. The legendary Lambs Club. 00:13:16.379 --> 00:13:19.120 Just for context, this was the absolute epicenter 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:21.419 for the theatrical elite. They are right in the 00:13:21.419 --> 00:13:23.379 thick of the New York theater scene. Right in 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:25.419 the middle of it. And here's where it gets really 00:13:25.419 --> 00:13:27.820 interesting. Because up until now, it sounds 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:30.000 like everything Wenrich touched turned to gold. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.620 But that wasn't the case. No, it wasn't. He wrote 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:34.500 a musical called Made to Love with a lyricist 00:13:34.500 --> 00:13:37.740 named Raymond Peck. And, well, it bombed. It 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:40.490 bombed hard. Very poorly received by audiences 00:13:40.490 --> 00:13:43.669 and critics alike. A rare but significant misstep. 00:13:43.830 --> 00:13:46.490 Yeah. And in the ruthless world of New York theater, 00:13:46.730 --> 00:13:49.370 a flop usually means the end of the road for 00:13:49.370 --> 00:13:51.769 a project. You just bury it and move on. Exactly. 00:13:51.970 --> 00:13:54.149 But instead of giving up, look at what they do. 00:13:54.889 --> 00:13:57.850 Wenrich and Peck take a step back. They completely 00:13:57.850 --> 00:14:00.590 rewrite the story from scratch. They tear it 00:14:00.590 --> 00:14:02.549 down to the studs. They look at the mechanics 00:14:02.549 --> 00:14:04.490 of the show, they keep the songs they know are 00:14:04.490 --> 00:14:06.990 good, and they relaunch the entire production 00:14:06.990 --> 00:14:10.490 under a new name. the right girl. And the smartest 00:14:10.490 --> 00:14:12.990 thing they did. They made Dolly Connolly the 00:14:12.990 --> 00:14:16.850 star. The pivot worked flawlessly. Yeah. The 00:14:16.850 --> 00:14:20.190 New York Times reviewed it on March 16, 1921. 00:14:20.350 --> 00:14:22.659 And they loved it. They praised Winrich's score, 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:24.740 noting that songs like Love's Little Journey 00:14:24.740 --> 00:14:27.480 were good for half a dozen encores. Wow. And 00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:29.399 they specifically highlighted Dolly Connolly, 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:31.519 noting that she came from vaudeville and sang 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.000 the numbers vivaciously. It was a massive hit, 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:36.360 and he followed it up with two more musicals 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:39.820 in the 20s, Some Party in 1922 and Castles in 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:43.519 the Air in 1926. Though notably, neither of those 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:45.940 included Dolly. Right. If we connect this to 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:48.600 the bigger picture, you really see a masterclass 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:52.620 in professional survival. Winridge wasn't precious 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:55.639 about a failed project. He salvaged the good 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:59.460 parts and retooled the rest. He adapted. Exactly. 00:15:00.110 --> 00:15:02.929 And as the 1920s roared on and eventually gave 00:15:02.929 --> 00:15:06.649 way to the 1930s, the entire landscape of American 00:15:06.649 --> 00:15:09.769 entertainment shifted dramatically. Vaudeville 00:15:09.769 --> 00:15:12.850 was dying. Dying quickly. Radio and talking pictures 00:15:12.850 --> 00:15:15.610 were taking over. Performers who had spent decades 00:15:15.610 --> 00:15:18.429 perfecting their stage acts were suddenly obsolete. 00:15:18.830 --> 00:15:20.669 Right. The live stages they used to dominate 00:15:20.669 --> 00:15:23.070 were quite literally being torn down. Or they 00:15:23.070 --> 00:15:25.330 were being converted into movie houses. Exactly. 00:15:25.809 --> 00:15:29.629 But Wenrich refused to fade away. From 1931 to 00:15:29.629 --> 00:15:33.169 1940, he joined a sensational revue called Songwriters 00:15:33.169 --> 00:15:35.899 on Parade. I love that concept. Right. He and 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:37.919 several of his colleagues toured all across the 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:40.000 eastern seaboard on the Lowe's and Keith circuits. 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:43.080 They were capitalizing on the nostalgia for their 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.159 massive hits. And adapting to the new technology, 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:49.360 he and Dolly even appeared briefly on Weef Radio 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:53.360 in New York between 1930 and 1932. They were 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.539 always finding the next medium. But by the early 00:15:56.539 --> 00:15:59.940 1930s, Wenrich and Connolly officially retired 00:15:59.940 --> 00:16:02.899 from touring together. End of an era. Yeah. In 00:16:02.899 --> 00:16:06.039 1934, they made the big move out west to California, 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:08.940 right in the middle of Hollywood's golden age. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.799 A huge transition. And it's here, in 1937, that 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:15.620 Wenrich publishes his last really memorable song, 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:19.360 a tune called Sail Along, Silvery Moon. It marks 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:22.000 the twilight of his active composing career. 00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:24.720 And unfortunately, this later chapter of their 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:27.779 lives is marked by a profound personal tragedy. 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:30.139 It's incredibly heartbreaking. Dolly, who had 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:32.779 been his muse, his stage partner, the vivacious 00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:35.559 star of The Right Girl. Her mental health began 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:37.940 to severely deteriorate. It did. According to 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:40.039 our source material, the situation became so 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:42.919 difficult that in 1947, Weiner had to commit 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:45.620 her to a sanatorium. The historical record confirms 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:49.350 this sad turn of events. A 1950 census later 00:16:49.350 --> 00:16:52.529 lists her as a patient at the Central Islip Mental 00:16:52.529 --> 00:16:55.570 Hospital in Suffolk County, New York. Incredibly 00:16:55.570 --> 00:16:59.470 sad. It's a very somber, difficult end to what 00:16:59.470 --> 00:17:01.409 had been one of the most vibrant collaborative 00:17:01.409 --> 00:17:03.710 partnerships in early American entertainment. 00:17:04.009 --> 00:17:07.059 It truly is. But even amid that personal darkness, 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:09.720 Wenrich's professional legacy refused to fade 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:13.059 into obscurity. No, it didn't. In fact, in 1951, 00:17:13.099 --> 00:17:15.539 he experienced a massive final resurgence in 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:18.420 popularity. And it came from the newest dominant 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:21.339 medium of the era. Hollywood. Hollywood. Warner 00:17:21.339 --> 00:17:23.980 Brothers released a major film titled On Moonlight 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:27.269 Bay, starring the iconic Doris Day. Named, of 00:17:27.269 --> 00:17:29.250 course, after the song Wenrich wrote after that 00:17:29.250 --> 00:17:31.369 misunderstood request in Atlantic City all those 00:17:31.369 --> 00:17:33.750 decades ago. Exactly. There was a huge nostalgia 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:36.970 boom in the 1950s looking back at the 1910s, 00:17:36.990 --> 00:17:40.329 and his music was the perfect soundtrack for 00:17:40.329 --> 00:17:43.329 it. The film sparked a massive rediscovery of 00:17:43.329 --> 00:17:46.650 Wenrich's work for a whole new generation. The 00:17:46.650 --> 00:17:50.549 studio even premiered the film on July 27, 1951 00:17:50.549 --> 00:17:52.589 at the Paramount Theater right back where it 00:17:52.589 --> 00:17:55.210 all started. In Joplin. In his hometown of Joplin, 00:17:55.289 --> 00:17:58.470 Missouri. The mayor of Joplin, H. Chris Oltman, 00:17:58.650 --> 00:18:01.390 actually issued a proclamation designating another 00:18:01.390 --> 00:18:04.329 of Wenrich's hits, Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet, 00:18:04.450 --> 00:18:07.630 as Joplin's official city song. A beautiful full 00:18:07.630 --> 00:18:10.990 circle moment for the Joplin kid. Though, sadly, 00:18:11.130 --> 00:18:13.730 due to illness, Wenrich was not well enough to 00:18:13.730 --> 00:18:15.650 travel back to Missouri to attend the premiere 00:18:15.650 --> 00:18:18.269 himself. He wasn't, but his peers back in New 00:18:18.269 --> 00:18:20.750 York certainly hadn't forgotten him. That same 00:18:20.750 --> 00:18:24.549 year, 1951, the Lambs Club published a tribute 00:18:24.549 --> 00:18:26.799 to him in their newsletter. I love this quote. 00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:28.579 I have to read this quote to you because it is 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:30.900 just incredibly colorful and perfectly captures 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:33.440 how he was viewed by his contemporaries. They 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.880 wrote, The Joplin kid has indeed walked with 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:37.920 kings without losing the common touch. And in 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.640 this bebop reefer happy dust era, it's inspiring 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:43.099 to visit a brother lamb like Percy Wenridge. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:46.079 In this bebop reefer happy dust era. What a phrase. 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:49.299 That phrasing is incredible. It really captures 00:18:49.299 --> 00:18:51.759 how the old guard of the ragtime and vaudeville 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:55.279 days viewed the rapidly changing chaotic music. 00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:58.759 scene of the 1950s they were completely bewildered 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:01.619 by it totally They looked at Wenrich as this 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:05.259 grounded, inspiring connection to a bygone golden 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:08.380 age. A brother lamb who had seen it all. Sadly, 00:19:08.460 --> 00:19:12.339 just a year later, in 1952, Percy Wenrich passed 00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:15.539 away in New York City at the age of 72. He was 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:17.640 ultimately brought back home and buried in the 00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:19.839 Fairview Cemetery in Joplin, Missouri. He was 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:22.519 a founding member of ACECAP, the American Society 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:25.319 of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, which 00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:27.299 protected the rights of creators like him. An 00:19:27.299 --> 00:19:30.799 absolute pioneer. and whose music reached millions 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:33.420 upon millions of people. So what does this all 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:36.099 mean? We've gone from a teenager playing organ 00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:39.039 at Missouri political rallies to a Broadway composer, 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:41.960 a sheet music millionaire, and a Hollywood soundtrack 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:44.720 staple. I think the biggest takeaway from Wenrich's 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.319 life is that it is a master class in adaptation. 00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:49.460 Adaptation, yeah. He didn't just write music. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:52.420 He evolved with the industry. He started in an 00:19:52.420 --> 00:19:55.059 era where success meant selling paper sheet music 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:57.700 at a department store. He transitioned those 00:19:57.700 --> 00:20:00.579 skills to the demanding live stages of vaudeville. 00:20:00.700 --> 00:20:04.039 Then Broadway. Right. When that faded, he moved 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:07.039 to the recording studio making records. He jumped 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:09.380 onto the radio waves when that technology emerged, 00:20:09.660 --> 00:20:12.380 and he lived to see his work immortalized on 00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:15.299 the silver screen. He really did it all. He was 00:20:15.299 --> 00:20:18.039 never paralyzed by the changing formats. He just 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:20.059 figured out how to make his melodies fit the 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:22.769 new vessel. It's an incredible legacy of resilience. 00:20:23.289 --> 00:20:26.470 And it leaves me with one final provocative thought 00:20:26.470 --> 00:20:28.950 I want you to mull over today. Think about how 00:20:28.950 --> 00:20:31.230 many melodies, how many catchy little voices 00:20:31.230 --> 00:20:34.529 from over a century ago are still quietly embedded 00:20:34.529 --> 00:20:37.390 in our cultural subconscious. Just floating around 00:20:37.390 --> 00:20:40.210 out there. Exactly. Is it possible that the tunes 00:20:40.210 --> 00:20:42.630 you casually hum today while making coffee or 00:20:42.630 --> 00:20:44.809 driving to work were actually born from a misunderstood 00:20:44.809 --> 00:20:48.069 conversation at an Atlantic City bar over 100 00:20:48.069 --> 00:20:50.450 years ago? It definitely makes you wonder what 00:20:50.450 --> 00:20:53.450 offhand comment today will be the classic song 00:20:53.450 --> 00:20:56.569 of tomorrow. It really does. Thank you so much 00:20:56.569 --> 00:20:59.750 for joining us for this deep dive into the extraordinary 00:20:59.750 --> 00:21:02.309 life of the Joplin kid, Percy Wenridge. We'll 00:21:02.309 --> 00:21:03.029 catch you next time.