Editing Henry Fillmore

{{short description|American composer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{more footnotes|date=February 2008}}
{{Infobox person
|image=Henry Fillmore at age 16.jpg
|caption=Fillmore in the 1890s, at the age of 16.
|birth_place=[[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]], U.S.
|birth_date={{Birth date|1881|12|03}}
|death_date={{Death date and age|1956|12|07|1881|12|03}}
|death_place=[[Miami]], [[Florida]], U.S.
|occupation=Composer, musician, bandleader
|spouse=Mabel May Jones
|alma_mater=[[Cincinnati Conservatory of Music]]
}}
'''Henry Fillmore''' (December 3, 1881 – December 7, 1956) was an American musician, composer, publisher, and bandleader, best known for his many [[march (music)|marches]] and [[Screamer (march)|screamers]], a few of which he wrote for the [[Band of the Hour]] at the [[University of Miami]] in [[Coral Gables, Florida]]. 

==Early life and education==
Fillmore was born in [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]] as the eldest of five children. In his youth, he mastered piano, guitar, violin, flute, and [[slide trombone]]. He kept his trombone activities a secret at first, as his circumspect religious father James Henry Fillmore (1849–1936)—a composer of [[gospel songs]], often in collaboration with [[Jessie Brown Pounds]]<ref>{{cite book
|last = McCann
|first = Forrest Mason
|year = 1997
|title = Hymns & history
|location = Abilene, Texas
|publisher = Abilene Christian University Press
|page = 400
}}</ref>—believed it an uncouth and sinful instrument. Henry's mother secretly bought a used trombone for him and obscured from Henry's father the son's learning to play the instrument.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHb0OV4dU0A 
|title = Americans We march 
|date = July 23, 2003 
|access-date = 2013-09-16 
|last = Band of America 
|location = Shrine Temple Auditorium
|publisher = Hallway Independent Productions
}}</ref> Fillmore, whose uncle, [[Frederick A. Fillmore]] (1856–1925) was also a tune-composer for gospel songs, was a singer for his church choir as a boy.  He began composing at 18, with his first published [[march (music)|march]] "Hingham", named after a line of brass instruments.

Fillmore entered the [[Cincinnati Conservatory of Music]] in 1901.

==Personal life==
After graduating from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Fillmore traveled the United States as a [[Circus (performing art)|circus]] [[bandmaster]] with his wife, an [[exotic dancer|exotic vaudeville dancer]] named Mabel May Jones. They were married in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]].

==Career==
During the 1920s, Fillmore was back in Cincinnati conducting the [[Shriners]] Temple Band, which he turned into one of the best [[marching band]]s in the country. After the death of John Phillip Sousa in 1932, he was often called "The March King".<ref name=":1" />

===Fillmore Music House===

The Fillmore Music House was co-founded in 1874 by his father, James Fillmore, and his uncle, Frederick Fillmore, under the "Fillmore Brothers" name, which began as a Cincinnati-based hymnal publisher.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Segal |first=Alfred |date=December 20, 1951 |title=Fillmore Music Shop Sold to New York Firm |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/762790723/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Cincinnati Post |page=30 |language=en}}</ref> When Henry Fillmore became president after his father's death in 1937, he transformed the firm to focus on orchestral and band music, along with musical instrument sales.<ref name=":0" /> In 1951, he announced the Fillmore Music Shop would become an affiliate of [[Carl Fischer Music]] of New York, with the condition that it would still operate under the Fillmore name and that all thirteen employees would continue in their employment at the store's 528 Elm Street location.<ref name=":0" />

===Florida band work===

In 1938, Fillmore, after being advised by a physician that he had just a few months to live, retired to [[Miami]], [[Florida]]. He went on, however, to prove the physician wrong, keeping an active schedule rehearsing high school bands in Florida and composing marches. The Henry Fillmore Band Hall, the rehearsal hall for many of the [[University of Miami]]'s performing groups, acquired its name as a tribute to Fillmore's work in the band genre.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Findsen |first=Owen |date=March 3, 1996 |title=Henry Fillmore: The March King |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/102429185/ |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Cincinnati Enquirer |page=42 |language=en}}</ref> The hall houses the Fillmore Museum.<ref name=":1" /> His march "Orange Bowl" was written for Miami's [[Band of the Hour]]. ''Uncle Henry'', as Fillmore was affectionately known to the members of the ''Band of the Hour'', also wrote the University of Miami's current official fight song – "Miami U How-De-Doo".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.footballfightmusic.com/track/Miami_FL_-_Fight_Song_-_Miami_U_How-Dee-Doo.html|title=Miami FL - Fight Song - Miami U How-Dee-Doo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060459/http://www.footballfightmusic.com/track/Miami_FL_-_Fight_Song_-_Miami_U_How-Dee-Doo.html|access-date=October 26, 2021|archive-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref> His arrangement of "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" is performed by the [[Florida State University]] [[Marching Chiefs]]. His march "Men of Florida" was composed for the bands at the [[University of Florida]]. He was given an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of Miami in 1956 in recognition of his career. Fillmore lived out the rest of his days in [[South Florida]].

===Music===
{{Listen
|title="Troopers Tribunal" (1905)
|filename=U.S. Air Force Band - Henry Fillmore - Troopers Tribunal.ogg
|description=Fillmore's "Troopers Tribunal", a [[circus march]] in which Fillmore used a punning name – it actually refers to troupers, as in a circus troupe – in order to conceal whom he wrote the march for from his conservative father.<ref>[https://www.music.af.mil/Bands/The-United-States-Air-Force-Band/ Liner notes to Front & Center, a Collection of American Marches], U.S. Air Force Band</ref>
|title2="Miss Trombone" (1908)
|filename2=Fillmore,_Henry_-_Miss_Trombone_(1911).ogg
|description2=Fillmore's "Miss Trombone", performed for the Indestructible Record Company in 1911.
|filename3=The Circus Bee.ogg
|title3="The Circus Bee"
|description3=Fillmore's "[[The Circus Bee]]" performed by the [[United States Marine Corps Band]]
|filetype3=[[Ogg]]
|filename4=RollingThunder (USAFB).ogg
|title4="Rolling Thunder"
|description4=Fillmore's "[[Rolling Thunder (march)|Rolling Thunder]]" performed by the Ceremonial Brass of the United States Air Force.
|filetype4=[[Ogg]]
|title5="The Man of the Hour" (1924)
|description5=Fillmore's 1924 march "The Man of the Hour", performed here by U.S. Marine Band.
|filename5=Henry Fillmore's "The Man of the Hour" (1924), performed by the United States Marine Band.ogg
|filetype5=[[Ogg]]
|title6="The Man of the Hour" (1924)
|filename6=Henry Fillmore's "The Man of the Hour" (1924), performed by the U.S. Navy Band.oga
|description6=Fillmore's 1924 march "The Man of the Hour", performed by the U.S. Navy Band in the 1990s.
|filetype6=[[Ogg]]

}}
Fillmore wrote over 250 pieces and [[arrangement (music)|arranged]] orchestrations for hundreds more. He published under a variety of pseudonyms, including Gus Beans, Harold Bennett, Ray Hall, Harry Hartley, Al Hayes, and Henrietta Moore. Only the name Will Huff caused any issues, as another [[Will Huff]] composed marches and resided in Fillmore's state. Fillmore used many pseudonyms throughout his career and was worried that flooding the market with music published under "Henry Fillmore" would dissuade others from purchasing his music. His pseudonyms are associate with grade, or difficulty level, or genre. In a 1953 interview with Jack H. Mahan, Fillmore explained his pseudonym uses: "Harold Bennett" was easy and non-progressive, if you can play one, you can play them all. "Al Hayes" was a little more difficult. "Will Huff" was a duplicate composer (Fillmore's "Will Huff" was usually easy grade). "Henry Fillmore" could be the easiest marches or the most difficult. "Harry Hartley" are all solos; cornet, trombone, and baritone that are easy grade with no triple-tonguing or cadenzas. Solos under other names are just incidental. "Henrietta Moore" is all twilight songs.

A musical trade journal explained matters similarly in 1928: “The Harold Bennett Group includes selections for various instruments covering a specific range and not too difficult. The Al Hayes group is written for the same instruments, but with a more difficult arrangement; the Harry Hartley group is mostly teachers’ solos; and the Ray Hall group interesting miscellaneous compositions. Under his own name Mr. Fillmore has written many trombone solos and marches.”<ref>“Alias Henry Fillmore.” Metronome 44:12 (December 1928), 55.</ref>

While best known for [[march music]] and [[Screamer (march)|screamers]], he also wrote [[waltz]]es, [[Foxtrot (dance)|foxtrots]], [[hymns]], novelty numbers, and [[overtures]]. Fillmore's best-known compositions include:

* "The President's March" (1956)
* "The Footlifter" (1935)
* "Americans We" (1929)
* "Men of Ohio" (1921)
* "The Man of the Hour" (1924)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.msu.edu/findaid/ua16-86.html|title=School of Music Records UA.16.86|website=archives.msu.edu|access-date=November 16, 2018|date=2007|quote='The Man of the Hour' march by Henry Fillmore (folio #HM-17) 1924}}</ref>
* "His Honor" (1934)
* "The Klaxon" (1930)
* "Lassus Trombone" (1915)
* "(We're) Men of Florida"
* "Military Escort March" (1923)
* "Mt. Healthy" (1916)
* "The Crosley March"
* "Noble Men" (1922)
* "Orange Bowl March" (1939)
* "[[Rolling Thunder March]]" (1916)
* "[[The Circus Bee]]" (1908)
* "King Karl King" (1957)

Fillmore gained fame as the "Father of the Trombone Smear",<ref>{{cite book
|title=Ohio Jazz: A History of Jazz in the Buckeye State
|last1=Meyers
|first1=David
|last2=Watkins
|first2=Candice
|last3=Howard
|first3=Arnett
|last4=Loeffler
|first4=James
|page=26
|date=2012
|location=Charleston, SC
|publisher=The History Press
|isbn = 9781609495756|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MiY3n31sWoQC&pg=PA26
|access-date=2015-12-18}}</ref> writing a series of 15 novelty tunes featuring [[trombone smear]]s called "The Trombone Family". A number of these have a strong [[ragtime]] influence. The tunes have subtitles printed on the parts, some of which contain racial slurs. Many were advertised specifically for the minstrel performers of the era.  <ref>{{cite web |last1=Yeo |first1=Douglas |title=Trombone Players: It's Time to Bury Henry Fillmore's Lassus Trombone |url=https://thelasttrombone.com/2020/06/28/trombone-players-its-time-to-bury-henry-fillmores-lassus-trombone/ |website=The Last Trombone |date=June 28, 2020 |access-date=January 19, 2021}}</ref>  All of Fillmore's trombone rags are as follows:

[[Image:TromboneFamilyFillmore.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Music to Fillmore's popular "Trombone Family" series]]
* "Miss Trombone (A Slippery Rag)" (1908)
* "Teddy Trombone (A Brother to Miss Trombone)" (1911)
* "Lassus Trombone (De Cullud Valet to Miss Trombone)" (1915)
* "Pahson Trombone (Lassus Trombone's 'Ole Man')" (1916)
* "Sally Trombone (Pahson Trombone's Eldest Gal Some Crow)" (1917)
* "Slim Trombone (Sally Trombone's Cousin - the Jazzin' One Step Kid)" (1918)
* "Mose Trombone (He's Slim Trombone's Buddy)" (1919)
* "Shoutin' Liza Trombone (Mose Trombone's Ah-finity)" (1920) (Also known as "Hallelujah Trombone" for the quote from [[Messiah Part II#44|Handel's "Messiah"]])
* "Hot Trombone (He's Jes a Fren' ob Shoutin' Liza Trombone)" (1921)
* "Bones Trombone (He's Jes as Warm as Hot Trombone)" (1922)
* "Dusty Trombone" (1923)
* "Bull Trombone (A Cullud Toreador)" (1924)
* "Lucky Trombone" (1926)
* "Boss Trombone" (1929)
* "Ham Trombone" (1929)

Occasionally, as in "The Footlifter" credit, Fillmore [[pseudonym|wrote with the name]] Harold Bennett.<ref>{{cite news
|url = http://www.justsheetmusic.com/sheet-music/harold-bennett-henry-fillmore-the-footlifter/ 
|last1 = Bennett
|first1 = Harold 
|first2 = Henry
|last2 = Fillmore 
|magazine = Just Sheet Music 
|access-date = 2013-09-07 
|date = September 17, 2013 
|title = The Footlifter
}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book|title=The Music of Henry Fillmore and Will Huff|first=Paul E.|last=Bierley|location=Columbus, Ohio|publisher=Integrity Press|date=1982|isbn=0-918048-02-8}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Henry Fillmore}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Fillmore, Henry|cname=Henry Fillmore}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031204102918/http://www.hutchcc.edu/dept/4/pages/fillmore.htm Fillmore on hutchcc.edu]
* [http://www.KarlKing.us also see the Karl King Page (each of these "March Kings" wrote a march saluting the other)]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fillmore, Henry}}
[[Category:1881 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:American bandleaders]]
[[Category:American male composers]]
[[Category:American composers]]
[[Category:American Disciples of Christ]]
[[Category:Musicians from Cincinnati]]
[[Category:University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni]]
[[Category:University of Miami faculty]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:Circus musicians]]