Paul Charles Pratt was an American composer, arranger and songwriter of popular music born in Indianapolis. After some music education and still in his teens, he was befriended with Cecil Duane Crabb and May Aufderheide for whom he arranged her Dusty (1908). This impressed May's father to such an extent that he set up the music publishing house of J. H. Aufderheide, Indianapolis, Indiana in which Pratt was eventually made manager of its Chicago operations. He wrote a number of rags, the earliest of which were also published by J. H. Aufderheide. On moving to New York, he collaborated with another Indianapolis friend, one J. Will Callahan to write a number of songs one of their earliest being That Gosh Darn Hiram Tune (1912). In New York he went on to work as an arranger for a number of theatre orchestras. In the 1930's he changes his profession to that of photographer which he continued until his death in Indianapolis. Of his rags Colonial Glide (1914) and Hot-House Rag (1914) have been recorded by Max Morath and Trebor Jay Tichenor respectively.

Websites:
	Paul Charles Pratt	Biography and list of works by "Perfessor" Bill Edwards