William H. Krell  (1873-1933)
Last updated: 01.02.24
According to many sources, William H. Krell was a white Chicago bandleader whose place in ragtime history is assured by being credited with being the first to publish a composition with the word "rag" in its title, namely Mississippi Rag (1897). The cover was also records the first publication of the word "rag-time". The pundits point out however that it was not actually a true rag, but a cakewalk. Whatever its merits, Mississippi Rag continues to this day to be widely performed and recorded by all manner of artists ranging from solo pianists to brass quintets. One year later in 1898 Krell's Shake Yo' Dusters or Piccaninny Rag, which has genuine ragtime elements, was published thus asserting his position in the roots of ragtime.
Note: The Internet seems to be equally divided regarding Krell's year of birth placing it as either 1868 or 1873. For convenience the latter is given here.


Websites:
url15.gif William H. Krell Biography and list of works by "Perfessor" Bill Edwards  
William H. Krell  (1873-1933) has at least 1 item(s) at the Amazons which you can order on-line by clicking the item's order icon.
Fighting Bob Evans
Music by: William H. Krell.
Publisher: S. Brainard's Sons Co.
Suppliers: flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15es.gif
Printed: 1898. Sheet Music.
  Title Co-Author(s) Sequencer
       
audiomidi15.gif Cake Walk Patrol (1895), The J. Pitt-Payne
audiomidi15.gif Mississippi Rag (1897), The Colin D. McDonald
audiomidi15.gif Shake Yo' Dusters (1898) Colin D. McDonald
  Title (Release Year) Performers Instruments
       
audiodbemp315.gif Arbutus Waltz (1897) Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens. A/T/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B)
audiodbemp315.gif Cake Walk Patrol (1895), The Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens. A/T/T/B/GB(B)
audiodbemp315.gif First Extra (1895), The Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens. D/A/T/T/B/B/GB(B)
audiodbemp315.gif Mississippi Rag (1897), The Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens. A/T/T/B/B/GB(B)
audiodbemp315.gif Shake Yo' Dusters (1898) Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens. A/T/T/B/GB(B)
     Performer CD Title Supplier
       
Brass Music CDs:
cd15.gif Eastern Brass Quintet Ragtime flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif
cd15.gif Avatar Brass Quintet Magnetic Rags: Ragtime for Brass flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Harmonic Brass Munich There's a man flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif
Jazz Music CDs:
cd15.gif Turk Murphy Euphonic Sounds flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Black Swan Classic Jazz Band Ragtime Revelry CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15es.gif
Ragtime Music CDs:
cd15.gif Various Artists The New John Robichaux Society Orchestra flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Various Artists A Century of Ragtime 1897-1997 flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Various Artists Good Time Jazz Story flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif
cd15.gif Various Artists Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif
cd15.gif Claude Bolling Original Ragtime CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif
cd15.gif  Claude Bolling Original Ragtime/Original Boogie Woogie/Original Piano Blues CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Claude Bolling Le Ragtime flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif
cd15.gif Trebor Jay Tichenor Ragtime Reunion
cd15.gif Paragon Ragtime Orchestra More Candy CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Evergreen Ragtime Trio It's a Rouser flag15us.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif William Bolcom Sweet Sixteenths: A Ragtime Concert CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif
cd15.gif Richard Zimmerman The Roots of Ragtime CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif
cd15.gif St. Louis Ragtimers The St. Louis Ragtimers: Volume 4 flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Terry Waldo Ragtime Classics Vol. 1 flag15us.gif
cd15.gif Squeek Steele Ragtime Volume One CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Max Morath Jonah Man: A Tribute to Bert Williams CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif  Knuckles O'Toole Knuckles O'Toole: Plays The Greatest All-Time Ragtime Hits flag15us.gif
Item Title Available €     £     $     Other
             
DBE935 Arbutus Waltz (1897)
A/T/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B), approx. 6½ mins.
1-2 days
other.gif
DBE936 The Cake Walk Patrol (1895) - Two-Step
A/T/T/B/GB(B), approx. 4½ mins.
1-2 days
other.gif
DBE937 The First Extra (1895) - Waltzes
D/A/T/T/B/B/GB(B), approx. 5 mins.
1-2 days
other.gif
DBE938 The Mississippi Rag (1897) - Two-Step
A/T/T/B/B/GB(B), approx. 4¾ mins.
1-2 days
other.gif
DBE939 Shake Yo' Dusters (1898) - Piccaninny Rag Two-Step
A/T/T/B/GB(B), approx. 3¼ mins.
1-2 days
other.gif
     Title Instruments Remarks
       
sm15.gif Arbutus Waltz (1897) A/T/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B) dbe15.gifwvicon.gif
sm15.gif Cake Walk Patrol (1895), The A/T/T/B/GB(B) dbe15.gifPub.
sm15.gif First Extra (1895), The D/A/T/T/B/B/GB(B) dbe15.gifPub.
sm15.gif Mississippi Rag (1897), The A/T/T/B/B/GB(B) dbe15.gifPub.
sm15.gif Shake Yo' Dusters (1898) A/T/T/B/GB(B) dbe15.gifPub.
     Title Attribution Instruments Source Remarks
           
pdf15.gif Bowery Spielers (1900), The W.H. Krell (music) Piano IMSLP wvicon.gif
pdf15.gif
pdf15.gif
Mississippi Rag (1897), The W.H. Krell (music)
Piano IMSLP
Indiana
Pub.
pdf15.gif Time He Loves the Best (1895), The W.H. Krell (music)
L.H. Freeman (words)
Piano, Voice IMSLP Pub.
This list is arranged in chronological order and contains 18 works by William H. Krell (1873-1933). It does not claim to be complete and represents only the number of items located. Keys: ER pdf15.gif
Title Year Attribution Remarks
       
Our Carter 1893 Silaes Leachman (words)
Cake Walk Patrol, The 1895 Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble (perf.)  wvicon.gif audiomidi15.gif audiodbemp315.gif
Dream of the Ball, A 1895
First Extra, The 1895 Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble (perf.)  Pub.  audiodbemp315.gif
Strolling on the Beach 1895
Time He Loves the Best, The 1895 L.H. Freeman (words)  Pub.
Recreation, The 1896
Arbutus Waltz 1897 Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble (perf.)  Pub.  audiodbemp315.gif
Mississippi Rag, The 1897 Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble (perf.)  Pub. youtube15.jpg audiomidi15.gif audiodbemp315.gif
Summer Girl Waltzes 1897
American Girl Battle Ship, The 1898  Pub.
Fighting Bob Evans 1898  amazon15.gif Pub.
Finnigan Cadets 1898
Shake Yo' Dusters 1898 Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble (perf.)  Pub. audiomidi15.gif audiodbemp315.gif
Shake Yo' Dusters - Song 1898  Pub.
Cyrano 1899
Bowery Spielers, The 1900  Pub. youtube15.jpg
Senator, The 1901
     Composer Title Performer
       
youtube15.jpg W.H. Krell The Bowery Spielers (0:00) Ragtime Dorian Henry
youtube15.jpg W.H. Krell The Mississippi Rag (0:00) Ragtime Dorian Henry