Years active 1908–1942 Name Wallie Herzer | Role Composer | |
Full Name Walter Henry Herzer Born April 15, 1885 ( 1885-04-15 ) San Francisco Occupation Ragtime composer, songwriter, pianist Spouse(s) Sylvia
(nee Scalmanini; 1885–1955) Died October 15, 1961, Redwood City, California, United States | ||
Wallie Herzer (né Walter Henry Herzer; 15 April 1885 San Francisco – 15 October 1961 Redwood City, California) was an American composer of popular music, music publisher, and pianist. Herzer flourished in music prior to and during World War I. The Columbia recording of his 1912 composition, "Everybody Two-Step" — performed by ragtime pianist Mike Bernard on December 2, 1912, in New York City — is the first recording of ragtime music. It became a hit and coincided at the start of a renewed craze for ragtime and dance — fifteen years after William Krell's "Mississippi Rag" had been published, the first known published music with "rag" in the title. Several other recordings of "Everybody Two-Step" became hits. Herzer composed three other hits — a 1913 piano rag, "Tickle the Ivories" – which also became hit as a vocal arrangement; a 1914 foxtrot song, "Get Over, Sal"; and a 1916 Hawaiian waltz song, "Aloha Land". Other compositions — including his 1908 piano ragtime two-step and barn dance, "The Rah-Rah Boy", and his 1913 rag turkey trot, "Let's Dance" — were internationally distributed.
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Career
Of the 13 compositions by Herzer in the United States copyright records, there are 8 extant musical scores in national, academic, civic, and private libraries. The piano rolls and recordings of 4 of those works far exceed the number of compositions. As of 2014, at least 2 of Herzer's works are included in the repertoire of ragtime artists today.
Herzer published his music while working for insurance agencies in San Francisco. Beginning 1901, when he was 16, until about 1904, Herzer was a clerk for insurance agents Gutte & Frank (Isidor Gutte; 1833–1908; Julius Gutte; 1828–1900; and William Frank; 1839–19??). From 1904 to 1920, Herzer was an insurance adjustor and broker for Christensen & Goodwin (Charles H. Christensen; 1839–1921; & Benjamin Frank Goodwin; 1859–1945) at 241 Sansome Street — the same address as his publishing company. From 1920 to 1924, he was the manager of the city department (in San Francisco) for Bentley & Waterman (Leroy Vernon Bentley; 1883–1932; & Clyde Waterman; 1868–1950). In 1924, Herzer became the manager of the city department (in San Francisco) for Glens Falls Insurance Company, headquartered in Glens Falls, New York.
Music critic Winthrop Sargeant, in 1975, stated that the best ragtime came from outside New York and he cited Herzer & Brown, Wallie's first publishing company, as being among publishers of some of the best, earliest, and most imaginative rags. The title from Herzer's 1914 composition, "Get Over, Sal", was a turn-of-the-19th-century African-American expression for a slow-drag dance step that was incorporated in a variation of the fox trot. The expression had been published in an earlier song, "Music Hall Song", copyrighted 1879 — popularized by Jenny Hill, the 'Vital Spark':
A song rendition of "Everybody Two-Step", published in 1913, became a popular hit in vaudeville. The solo piano and song versions of "Everybody Two-Step", his 1913 composition, "Tickle The Ivories", and his 1916 composition, "Aloha Land", were hits.
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Family
Wallie Herzer's father, Hugo Herzer, Sr. (1845–1921), was born and raised in Bavaria, Germany, and emigrated to the United States in 1865. His mother, Elizabeth (née Ulrich; 1855–1923) was born and raised in France, and emigrated to the United States in 1860. Hugo, Sr., among other things, was engaged in civic service for the City of San Francisco, namely as Deputy Tax Assessor from about 1891 to 1901, then City Cashier in 1902 of the License Department of the Tax Assessor, and in 1905, Expert Searcher, Tax Office of San Francisco. Hugo, Sr., was also a member and officer of the Turners; and, also was a member of the German-American Republican Club of San Francisco, and the Grant and Wilson Club.
Wallie was the youngest of five siblings. One of his two brothers, Hugo G. Herzer, Jr. (1879–1921), was an operatic vocal instructor, first in Honolulu, in various capacities, including a position at the Honolulu School of Dramatic Art, from about 1902 to 1918. Hugo studied voice with Francis W. Stuart (1865–1939) at The King Conservatory of Music (Frank Louis King; 1854–1914) in San Jose in 1899. Hugo was a pedagogical exponent of Francesco Lamperti. Hugo married Agnes Lovell Lyle (maiden; 1887–1951) on March 2, 1907, in Honolulu. Agnes was a soprano, pianist, and piano teacher. In 1918, they both resettled in San Francisco. After the death of Hugo, Jr., in 1921, Agnes remarried Robert Montgomery Gehl (1888–1971).
Wallie married Sylvia (née Scalmanini; 1885–1955) in San Francisco on May 4, 1910. Sylvia's father, Carlo Scalmanini (1820–1891), had been a California Forty-Niner, a major vineyard owner-winemaker, co-owner, with Baptiste Frapolli (Italian spelling, Battiste; 1821–1890), of the Swiss Republic Restaurant at 19 Long Wharf, and, with Frapolli, a wholesale and retail grocer. Wallie and Sylvia had one child, a daughter — Harriett C. Herzer (1911–1999) who married Colin Arthur Moreton (1910–1991).