May Aufderheide (1888-1972)

Overview

Quoting from the Arcadian Press sheet notes: "May Aufderheide was one of the most successful of the women ragtime composers. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 21, 1888. She studied classical music and was a popular pianist in her home town area. She loved popular music and, in addition to playing rags, started to compose her own. Her first published composition, "Dusty Rag" (1908), was a hit and is considered the first major rag from the Indianapolis - Ohio Valley. "Dusty Rag" was so successful that her father started his own music publishing company. In the following four years J.H. Aufderheide Music Publishing Company published 18 other compositions by May Aufderheide. She married Thomas M. Kaufmann in 1908 who joined her father's primary business, a loan company. She seemed to have stopped composing and publishing somewhere around 1915. They had one son and, in 1947, moved to Southern California. May Aufderheide died in Pasadena, California on September 1, 1972.

Further reading:
Ragtime (Modern Library), by David A. Jasen and Trebor Jay Tichenor (New York: Seabury Press, 1978)
Women Composers of Ragtime, by Carolynn A. Lindemann Theodor Presser Company, 1985)

Websites:

May Aufderheide Biography and list of works by "Perfessor" Bill Edwards

CDs

	Performer	CD Title	Supplier


Recorder Music CDs:
Bremen Recorder Touring Company	Recorder Recital at St. Mathews
Jazz Music CDs:
Turk Murphy	Euphonic Sounds
Ragtime Music CDs:
Various Artists	Pianola Ragtime: Early Piano Jazz and Ragtime Played on Pianola Rolls: Vol. 2	CD(s) & MP3 Album(s)
Various Artists	Spirit of Ragtime
Various Artists	The Traditional Jazz Ragtime Collection
New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra	Grace and Beauty
New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra	New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra
Judith Alstadter	Women Composers: Romantic to Ragtime
Virginia Eskin	Fluffy Ruffle Girls: Women in Ragtime
Trebor Jay Tichenor	Ragtime Reunion
⇑Mimi Blais	Once Upon a Rag Time
Mimi Blais	Sunday Morning
Audley Green	Spirituals and Rags
Nancy Fierro	Rags And Riches
Chrysanthemum Ragtime Band	Preserves
Chrysanthemum Ragtime Band	Preserves, Vol. 1
Bryan Wright	Syncopated Musings: Classic Piano Rags and Ragtime Waltzes	CD(s) & MP3 Album(s)
Frederick Hodges	Kitten on the Keys: Ragtime, Novelty & Stride Classics
Max Morath	The Ragtime Women	CD(s) & MP3 Album(s)

Item	Title	Available	€	£	$	Other



DBE080	Blue Ribbon Rag (1910) A(T)/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B), approx. 3 mins.	1-2 days
DBE081	Buzzer Rag (1909) D/A/T/T/B/GB(B), approx. 2½ mins.	1-2 days
DBE081D	Buzzer Rag (1909) D/T/T/B, approx. 2½ mins.	out-of-print	€9.00	£7.50	$11.75
DBE082	Dusty (1908) - Rag D/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B), approx. 2 mins.	out-of-print	€12.00	£10.00	$15.50
DBE083	I Want A Patriotic Girl (1911) A/T/T/B/B/GB(B)/V(OT), approx. 4½ mins.	1-2 days
DBE085	Novelty Rag (1911) T/T/T/B/GB(B), approx. 3 mins.	1-2 days
DBE086	The Richmond Rag (1908) A/A/T/T/B/B/GB(B), approx. 2½ mins.	1-2 days
⇑DBE087	The Thriller! (1909) - Rag D/A/T/T/B/GB(B), approx. 2½ mins.	1-2 days
DBE088	A Totally Different Rag (1910) A/T/T/T/B/GB(B), approx. 2¾ mins.	1-2 days

Library

	Title	Instruments	Remarks


	Blue Ribbon Rag (1910)	A(T)/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B)
	Buzzer Rag (1909)	D/A/T/T/B/GB(B)
	Buzzer Rag (1909)	D/T/T/B
	Dusty (1908)	D/T/T+B/B+T/B/GB(B)
	Dusty Rag (1908)	S/A/T/B
	I Want a Patriotic Girl (1911)	A/T/T/B/GB(B)/V(OT)
	Novelty Rag (1911)	T/T/T/B/GB(B)
	Richmond Rag (1908), The	A/A/T/T/B/B/GB(B)
	Richmond Rag (1909), The	S/A/T/B
	Thriller! (1909), The	D/A/T/T/B/GB(B)
	Totally Different Rag (1910), A	D/D/T/B
	Totally Different Rag (1910), A	A/T/T/T/B/GB(B)

	Title	Instruments	Remarks


	Blue Ribbon Rag (1910)	Piano
	Buzzer Rag (1909)	Piano
	Dusty (1908)	Piano
	Dusty Rag - Song	Piano, Voice
	I'll Pledge My Heart to You (1909)	Piano, Voice
	In Bamboo Land	Piano, Voice
	Novelty Rag (1911)	Piano
	Richmond Rag (1908), The	Piano
	Thriller! (1909), The	Piano
	Totally Different Rag (1910), A	Piano

Works

This list is arranged in chronological order and contains 18 works by May Aufderheide (1888-1972). It does not claim to be complete and represents only the number of items located. Keys: ER

(w&m)

Title	Year	Attribution	Remarks


Dusty	1908
Richmond Rag, The	1908
Buzzer Rag	1909
I'll Pledge My Heart to You (w&m)	1909
Thriller!, The	1909
Blue Ribbon Rag	1910
In Bamboo Land	1910	Earl C. Jones (words)
My Girl of the Golden Days	1910	Earl C. Jones (words)
Totally Different Rag - Song, A	1910	Earl C. Jones (words)
Totally Different Rag, A	1910
Drifting in Dreams With You (w&m)	1911
⇑ I Want a Patriotic Girl (w&m)	1911
I Want a Real Lovin' Man (w&m)	1911	with Paul Pratt
Novelty Rag	1911
Pelham Waltzes	1911
Pompeian Waltzes	1911
You and Me in the Summertime	1911	Rudolph Aufderheide (words)
Dusty Rag - Song	1912

Videos

	Title	Dur	Performer	Composer	Score/Song


Blue Ribbon Rag	2:44	Ragtime Dorian Henry	M. Aufderheide	Blue Ribbon Rag (1910)
Buzzer Rag	2:36	Ragtime Dorian Henry	M. Aufderheide	Buzzer Rag (1909)
Dusty Rag	2:16	Ragtime Dorian Henry	M. Aufderheide
Novelty Rag	2:34	Ragtime Dorian Henry	M. Aufderheide	Novelty Rag (1911)
The Richmond Rag	1:51	Ragtime Dorian Henry	M. Aufderheide	The Richmond Rag (1908)
The Thriller!	2:32	Ragtime Dorian Henry	M. Aufderheide	The Thriller! (1909)
A Totally Different Rag	2:41	Ragtime Dorian Henry	M. Aufderheide	A Totally Different Rag (1910)

Websites:
	May Aufderheide	Biography and list of works by "Perfessor" Bill Edwards