Today, September 22nd, 1869 or 1870, marks the birth of Arthur Willard Pryor, who, due to his pyrotechnical abilities on the slide trombone, was crowned “trombone king;” or the “poet” or “Paganini” of the trombone while twelve years soloist with John Philip Sousa’s famous band.
While there were numerous brass soloists who achieved national recognition for their abilities; playing before royalty and czars, it was Arthur Pryor who stood above the rest all thanks to his 4-octave range, phenomenal technique, and a ghost-like vibrato making him one of the first brass soloists to attain superstar status even before the word superstar became part of the vernacular.
It is estimated Pryor performed over 10,000 solos while with Sousa combining both live concerts and recordings made thanks to wax cylinder, Berliner, and other early technological advances. It was in the area of recorded sound that Pryor, not Sousa, realized the importance and value of this early technology and embraced it and as a matter of fact, conducted a large percentage of the Sousa Band recordings while Sousa conducted a grand total of less than 1% of them!
As Pryor’s status as a superstar grew with Sousa’s organization, so did his opportunities and responsibilities. By the late 1890s, he was no longer just a featured soloist and first trombonist of Sousa’s Band but he was also assistant conductor, composer, and arranger for the band. Many of the trombone solos were of his own composition as well as marches and novelty numbers. It is interesting to note that while these opportunities and responsibilities increased, his weekly salary apparently did not. A look at this rare 1896 season weekly salary sheet shows Pryor making $50.00 while his counterparts in the solo clarinet and cornet chairs make $5.00 more per week. The greatest disparity lies with the soprano and violin soloists who were making from $100-200 when adjusted for today’s inflation is approx. $3500-7000 per week not to mention their musical duties typically amounted to a solo piece and encore per concert! As ragtime became immensely popular, Pryor helped introduce ragtime to the band by way of his own compositions while teaching the musicians how to read and interpret syncopated rhythms.
Within the Band’s business papers is a letter from 1898 mentioning that Arthur Pryor was ready to leave Sousa’s Band but for some unknown reason or circumstances, he remains until the of the conclusion of the 1903 European Tour. By the fall tour of 1903, Pryor as been replaced by Leo Zimmerman while Pryor organizes his own professional concert band while taking several of Sousa’s musicians with him! According to Mike Lake, the famous composer and arranger (remember “Arr. by M.L. Lake”), Sousa never forgave Pryor for that but apparently all was forgiven by 1916, as both Sousa and Pryor baseball teams square off for a friendly game.
Pryor continued with conducting recording sessions for Victor in Camden, NJ while his Band’s touring schedule was greatly reduced to longer engagements at Willow Grove Park, Asbury Park in summer, and Palm Park, Miami, Fl in winter. It was after a concert at Willow Grove that Pryor’s fiery temper and salty language got the best of him for as he was reprimanding a band member for a poor performance, a wealthy and influential park patron overheard the tirade and lodged a complaint resulting in Pryor and His Band never being invited back!
Pryor’s two sons Arthur Jr., and Roger were big names in radio and film respectively. Arthur Jr. on numerous occasions conducted his father’s band and was heavily involved with the radio industry and advertising in New York City, Actor Roger Pryor appeared in over fifty B movies in the 1930s and 40s and was married to actress Ann Southern for seven years.
Having retired from full-time conducting in 1933, Arthur Pryor, Sr. dabbled in local politics from his small farm in Monmouth County, NJ and vowed to enter and leave politics an honest man. Pryor died on June 21st, 1942 from complications of a stroke suffered a day earlier.
Images are as follows: Arthur Pryor and John Philip Sousa celebrate Sousa’s 77th and final birthday in November, 1931; A typical Sousa Band concert program from 1896 with Pryor as soloist; 1896 weekly pay roster for Sousa’s Band; Original 1900 Hamburg, Germany Sousa Band photo showing Pryor seated at Mr. Sousa’s left; 1900 stereoview image of Sousa’s Band at the Paris Exposition – Pryor at top of stairs by white pillar at right; Autographed European Tour postcard with Pryor’s and many other member’s signatures; Manuscript 1st clarinet part from Pryor’s 1902 composition “The Passing of Ragtime” from an original Sousa Band encore book; Real photo postcard of Pryor and Sousa baseball teams from 1916.
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