Editing Leon Roppolo

{{short description|American jazz clarinetist (1902-1943)}}
'''Leon Joseph Roppolo''' (March 16, 1902 – October 5, 1943)<ref name=redhotjazz/> was an American early [[jazz]] [[clarinetist]], best known for his playing with the [[New Orleans Rhythm Kings]]. He also played [[saxophone]] and [[guitar]].

==Life and career==
Leon Roppolo ([[nickname]]d "Rap" and sometimes misspelled as "Rappolo") was born in [[Lutcher, Louisiana]], United States, up-river from New Orleans.<ref name=redhotjazz>{{cite web |title=Leon Roppolo (1902-1943)|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/leon-roppolo-1902-1943/ |website=Syncopatedtimes.com |date=20 May 2020 |access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref> His family, of Sicilian origin, moved to the [[Uptown New Orleans|Uptown neighborhood]] of [[New Orleans]] about 1912.<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=2140}}</ref>

At the age of fifteen he decided to leave home to travel with the band of [[Bee Palmer]], which soon became the nucleus for the [[New Orleans Rhythm Kings]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> After the breakup of the Rhythm Kings in Chicago, Roppolo and Paul Mares headed east to try their luck on the [[New York City]] jazz scene.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Contemporary musicians recalled Roppolo making some recordings with Original Memphis Five and California Ramblers musicians in New York in 1924; these sides were presumably unissued, or if issued unidentified.<ref name=redhotjazz/>

Roppolo exhibited ever more eccentric behavior and violent temper.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> This was finally too much for his family to take, and Leon was committed to the state mental hospital in 1925.<ref name=redhotjazz /><ref>Ron DePasquale, [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/leon-roppolo-mn0000198329/biography Leon Roppolo - artist biography], ''[[AllMusic]]''</ref> Roppolo died in New Orleans at the age of forty-one.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

==Compositions==
Roppolo's compositions include the jazz standards "[[Farewell Blues]]"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/farewell-blues-mt0055394413|title=Farewell Blues - Irving Mills &#124; Song Info |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> and "Milenberg Joys",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/composition/milenberg-joys-mc0000440761|title=Milenberg Joys &#124; Details|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> "Gold Leaf Strut" or "Golden Leaf Strut",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/gold-leaf-strut-mt0005687083|title=Gold Leaf Strut - New Orleans Rhythm Kings &#124; Song Info |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> "[[Tin Roof Blues]]" (1923),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/leon-roppolo-mn0000198329/songs|title=Leon Roppolo Best Songs List: Top, New, & Old|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> and "[[Make Love to Me (1954 song)|Make Love to Me]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/make-love-to-me-mt0054691364|title=Make Love to Me - Ann-Margret &#124; Song Info |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/2013/02/leon-roppolo-and-new-orleans-rhythm.html Leon Roppolo and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings (1922-25)]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roppolo, Leon}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1943 deaths]]
[[Category:Dixieland clarinetists]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from New Orleans]]
[[Category:American jazz clarinetists]]
[[Category:Gennett Records artists]]
[[Category:People from Lutcher, Louisiana]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:American jazz musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:New Orleans Rhythm Kings members]]