Joseph Lamb

Joseph Lamb (1915)

Joseph Francis Lamb (born December 6, 1887 in Montclair , New Jersey , † September 3, 1960 in Brooklyn , New York ) was an American ragtime pianist and composer.

He taught himself to play the piano and was an avid supporter of Scott Joplin's music . In 1908 he met Joplin in New York City and Joplin was impressed by the compositions his young admirer presented to him. He put him in contact with John Stark, the editor of his own works. In the following ten years he brought out Lamb's compositions. When interest in ragtime waned around 1920, Lamb withdrew from the music business. When there was a ragtime revival in the 1950s, he made his knowledge from the heyday of ragtime available to music history research, even wrote a few works and made recordings.

In addition to Scott Joplin and James Scott , who were both of African American descent, Joseph Lamb, whose ancestors came from Ireland , is one of the "Big Three" of the classic composed ragtime. His works are pianistically as well as musically on par with the compositions of the two aforementioned. "Sensation" (arranged by Scott Joplin), "Ragtime Nightingale" and "Reindeer Rag" are particularly characteristic of his style and its versatility.

Works (selection)

• Sensation (1908)
• Ethiopia Rag (1909)
• Excelsior Rag (1909)
• Champagne Rag (1910)
• American Beauty Rag (1913)
• Ragtime Nightingale (1914)
• Cleopatra Rag (1915)
• Reindeer Rag (1915)
• Contentment Rag (1915)
• Top Liner Rag (1916)
• Patricia Rag (1916)
• Bohemia (1919)