Elmer Olson
Last updated: 27.04.22
Little is known about Elmer Olson other than he was the composer of a handful of rags and a few songs between 1911 and 1922 for various publishers. He is perhaps best known in the ragtime world for his sophisticated rag Town Talk (1917). Of his songs Say it with Diamonds (1922) is an interesting example of a Tin Pan Alley foray into the blatant advertising world. Billed as "A Song That Sells Diamonds", it was written specifically for jewellers who exclusively advertised their wares on the sheet music back cover.
| Title | Instruments | Performers |
|---|
| DBE MP3 Sample | |||
 |
Town Talk (1917) | S+D+T/D/A/T/T+B/B/GB(B) | Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens. |
| Midi File(s) | Sequencer(s) | ||
 |
Shock Rag (1911) | Midi | James Pitt-Payne |
|
Syncopated Echoes (1920) | Midi | James Pitt-Payne |
| Item | Title | Available | € | £ | $ | Other |
|---|
| DBE570 | Town Talk (1917) - A Classic in Rag Time S+D+T/D/A/T/T+B/B/GB(B), approx. 2½ mins. |
1-2 days |  |
This list is arranged in chronological order and contains 11 works by Elmer Olson.
It does not claim to be complete and represents only the number of items located. Keys: ER
(w&m)
| Title | Year | Attribution | Remarks |
|---|
| Red Raven | 1910 |  |
|
| Shock Rag | 1911 | |
|
| Spatter Rag | 1912 | Pub. | |
| Rag De Luxe | 1913 | Scott Cowles (words) | |
| Gypsy Rose (w&m) | 1917 | |
|
| Town Talk | 1917 |  |
|
| Syncopated Echoes | 1920 | |
|
| Kharmine (w&m) | 1921 | Moe Thompson (co-author) Daniel O'Niel (co-author) |
|
| Somebody Knows and Somebody Cares | 1921 | Vernon Stevens (words) Blossom Seeley (words) |
|
| Say It With Diamonds (w&m) | 1922 | |
|
| Funny Tune | 1927 | Pub. |