Biography
During his youth Wenrich performed on piano inside a music establishment situated on Main Street in Joplin. Immersed among stacks of printed scores, the teenager resolved to produce an original piece. At seventeen he completed L'Inconnu, a two-step written in 6/8 time, paid to have one thousand copies struck, and peddled them personally by calling at successive doorways. In 1901 he enrolled at the Chicago Musical College, then headed by Flo Ziegfeld's father. He soon exhausted his resources amid late nights with a fast-living group in dimly lit saloons and needed a loan to purchase a rail ticket back to Joplin. Chicago's pull nevertheless remained strong; within weeks Wenrich reappeared in the Windy City and pounded pianos in the rear rooms of assorted bars, clubs, and cafés. There he composed "Wabash Avenue After Dark," which gained wide local favor across Chicago yet stayed unpublished. Before entering Tin Pan Alley he issued numerous rags, beginning with "Ashy Africa--An African Rag" in 1903, then "Peaches and Cream Rag" in 1905 and both "Noodles" and "Chestnuts" in 1906. Several further titles—"Fun Bob," "Sweet Meats Rag," "Dixie Darlings," "Flower Girl," and "Bombay"—appeared in 1907 but were overshadowed by his first nationally successful rag, "The Smiles." The following year proved equally active, yielding "Memphis Rag," "Ragtime Ripples," "Crab Apples," and the well-regarded "Persian Lamb Rag." To cover expenses and set funds aside, Wenrich supplied melodies for five dollars each—later labeling the output "junk for the ten cent store counters"—for aspiring lyricists who mailed verses to Chicago's McKinley Music Company. Earnings from this work financed his 1908 move east to join the Jerome H. Remick firm in New York, accompanied by his wife, vaudeville performer Dolly Connolly. Public taste evidently matched Wenrich's style, since the 1909 song "Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet" achieved sales of two million copies. He maintained a steady output of rags and popular songs, releasing "Alamo Rag" and "Silver Bell" in 1910 and "Ragtime Chimes," "Red Rose Rag," and "Sunflower Rag" in 1911. In 1912 he partnered with Homer Howard to publish "Kentucky Days" and "Moonlight Bay." Three more rags—"Whipped Cream Rag," "Snow Deer Rag," and "Ragtime Turkey Trot"—followed in 1913. After a short publishing pause spent composing and appearing in vaudeville with his wife, Wenrich signed with the Leo Feist company. In 1914, working with lyricist Jack Mahoney, he produced the wholesome standard "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose," which entered the traditional jazz repertoire. Dolly Connolly, supported by Wenrich at the piano and drawing largely on his catalog, sustained a stage career and recorded for Columbia. "Come Back, Dixie" appeared in 1915 and "Sweet Cider Time, When You Were Mine" in 1916. The First World War prompted the 1917 song "Where Do We Go from Here?," while 1922's "All Muddled Up" reflected the prevailing jazz climate. Percy Wenrich's final notable composition, "Sail Along, Silv'ry Moon," was published in 1937. He died in New York City on March 17, 1952.