Joseph F. Lamb

Book excerpt: Joseph F. Lamb (1887-1960) composed with enthusiasm and was influenced by a variety of sources, all kinds of music, cultures, traditions and the everyday. Although he is considered one of classic ragtime's "big three"--along with Scott Joplin and James Scott--he did not fit the usual profile. He was musically self-taught, held a corporate job, and composed in his spare time, yet wrote piano rags Joplin enthusiastically championed and returned to composing and well-deserved recognition long after the end of the ragtime era. This biography focuses on his music and his world, and is drawn from family and research sources. It includes a foreword by two of Lamb's children.