Little-known treasure from Goshen ignited the world of music in the 1920s

[The following article was published in the July 18, 2002, edition of The Chronicle.], By Frank Zeccola GOSHEN — The East Coast jazz style of the late teens and early 20s, which became known as the Harlem Stride and which influenced and changed the world of jazz forever, was developed primarily by three piano players known as the “Big Three” in Harlem: James P. Johnson, Thomas “Fats” Waller, and Willie “The Lion” Smith — the last of whom was originally from Goshen, New York. The Lion, along with these and many other great jazz musicians of New York at the time, extended the boundaries of ragtime music and its African spiritual influences to create the jazz sound that would dominate New York and, later, Chicago, and that continues to serve as the root of modern jazz, rock, and hip-hop music today. By deepening and varying the steady left-hand oom-pah patterns of rag music with tremolos, rolled chords, cross-rhythms, and harmonic inventiveness, and weaving a powerful, improvised right hand through the bass, Willie and his counterparts patented the music that was known as “rent-party,” “house-party,” “parlorsocial,” or simply “Harlem piano style.” Jazz great Duke Ellington, once a student of Willie’s, proclaimed, “No one could ever play the same again after hearing the Lion.” Born in Goshen in 1897 on Nov. 23, 24, or 25 — depending on the source — William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith was a pianist, composer, entertainer, poet, philosopher, actor, soldier, raconteur, historian, astrologer, cantor, and teacher. His maternal grandmother, Ann Oliver, played banjo with the Primrose and West Minstrels, the great traveling shows of the 1890s, and his mother, Ida, played organ in church on Sundays. The first musical sound to inspire Willie was the cry of a newborn baby. “Somewhere in Goshen,” Willie remarked, “I began to get music on my mind.” From there, his family moved to Newark, New Jersey, where Willie began playing the piano at Buss’s Saloon, Randolph’s Café, and other dance halls around the city. During World War I, Willie served in the 350 Field Artillery in France. While he was firing a French 75s cannon, a colonel approached Willie and said, “Smith, you’re a lion with that gun.” Before long, he was known to everyone as “Willie the Lion.” When he returned from the war, the Lion continued to wreak havoc with his piano tickling, playing a cluster of dance halls in Harlem that included the Savoy, the Cotton Club, Connie’s and Small’s. In New York, the Lion was in constant contact with Eubie Blake, Artie Shaw, Abba Labba, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Waller, Johnson, and scores of other great jazz musicians who defined the New York sound. The Lion’s autobiography, entitled “Music on My Mind,” depicts the trials and rewards of these musicians, and serves as a guide for scholars and historians to research the contributions of the Harlem Renaissance. The Lion continued to play New York nightclubs throughout the 30s, 40s and 50s, and in the 60s toured Europe and appeared in music festivals throughout North America. In April 1973, after battling a short illness, the Lion died in New York. His influence will always be felt in the world of music, and his Goshen roots will always be a significant part of that influence. Editor’s note: The Chronicle wishes to thank Ann Roach of the Goshen Public Library and Historical Society, without whom we would never have learned about Willie “The Lion” Smith.