James Ault Memoir

University of Illinois at Springfield Norris L Brookens Library Archives/Special Collections James Ault Memoir AU54. Ault, James Memoir 13 pp. STEAMBOATS AND INLAND RIVERS Ault, riverboat musician, recalls his experiences as a musician on board riverboats on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers: music and songs performed, bands and musicians, working conditions, and the cargo transported on the boats. Interview by John Knoepfle, 1956 OPEN: released by John Knoepfle Archives/Special Collections LIB 144 University of Illinois at Springfield One University Plaza, MS BRK 140 Springfield IL 62703-5407 © 1956, University of Illinois Board of Trustees James Avlt Memoir COPYRIGIrT @ 1988 SANGAMON STATE UNIVERSITY, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. All rights reserved. NO part of this work may bc reproduced or transmilled in any form by any means, clectronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Oral History Orl'icc, Sangamon State University, Springfield, Illinois 62708, James Ault Memoir -- Archives, University of Illinois at Springfield Table of Contents Working on the Ebats . Bmds a,...... Musicians ...... Wages ........ Ear& ........ Roustabout Music ... Freight ....... Upper Ohio...... Spo11S@rs....... James Ault Memoir -- Archives, University of Illinois at Springfield Preface This manuscript is the product of a tape recorded intemiew wnducted by John Knoepfle on August 1, 1956. Ma.rgar@t Reeder transcribed the tape and Dr. Knoepfle edited and reviewed the transcript. This and other interviews in a series on steanibats ad inland rivers were produced under the auspices of the Public Library of Cincinnati and ~amiltonCounty, Ohio and Sangamon State University, Springfield, Illinois. In this mmoir James Ault discusses his river experiences as a musician on river boats in the 1920s. He reflects on the different bands, their wages, and roustabout music. John Knaepfle was born in cincinnati in 1923. He obtained his Ph.D. in literature fram Saint Louis University ir*1 1967. Dr. Knoepfle is presently a professor of Ekglish at Sangamon State university. He was named Illinois Authar of the Year in October, 1986. John and his wife Peg have one daughter and three sons, During 1953-1955 while working as prodtucer -director of an edumtional television station, Wm-TV, Cinchti, Dr. Knaepfle proposed a project on stemboats and inland rivers. These river memoirs are a result of the mearch collected during 1954-1960. Readers of the oral history mir should bar in mind that it is a transcript of the spoken word, and that the intewiewer, narrator and editor sought to preserve the informal, comersational style that is inherent in such historical sources. Sahgamon State University and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio are not responsible for the factual amacy of the memoir, nor for views expressed therein; these are for the reader to judge. The marmscript may be read, guoted and cited freely, It may not be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, electronic or m&mical, without prmission in writing fm either the Oral History Office, Sangamon State University, springfield, Illinois, 62794-9243 or the Curator of Rare Eboks and Special collections of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio, 45202-2071. James Ault Memoir -- Archives, University of Illinois at Springfield James Mt,August 1, 1956. John Knoepfle, Intenriewer. Q: I'm at the haw of IW. James Ault, on Dale Road in Norwood. Mr. Ault was a musician on a number of steamers Fn the 19201s. A: The first time, I was in the music business a mmibr of years before I ever worked any of the boats. I thhk the first time I ever worked on any stcaner, though, was up as far as 1928, 1928. The Island Queen and that was just a matter of up and dmthe river to the Island, that was going nowhere. In 1929 I did some work on the Greme he; that was when they were running the Chris Green@ and the Tan Greene. We Were frmn Cincinnati to W1eston. They carried freight on the lower deck and the season was strictly a passenger business tm along with the freight. For entertaimmt they frequatly had a few fellows that played music on the boat, and I made mrmerous trips on both of the bats at different times. Usually about a faur or five piece orchestra and what we did working out of Cinchtihere on those trips just about played the saw on the boats, same type of music as we played for dances around here. Why that was to sane extent was the people that usually took those trips in the summer were, oh, quite a few schmltea&ers. Seemed to draw them for ~ndiana,Michigan, upper Ohio. They'd read literature at fhe travel agencies and they'd think, I1Well,I would 1% to take a river trip.I1 Well they liked a lot of the older typ of nusic, the older tunes, but once in awhile there would be scrme young people on the boat and they would want to let their hair down so sps& so we would play a little jazz, mix it in. But on this prti-ar trip we just more or less played the average pop music of the days at that time. In 1929, February of 1929, I had a trip to New Orleans on the, back in those days it was called the Cincinnati, and the crew was made up of people frm all along the river here that were fm different lines, in other words it was just a get together to make the trip People frmn the Greene hed people frwn the old L and C he, sane of the people fmthe Coney Island cmpny. Pilots and such, sarrre of the other help on the boat. That again was the txse, playing the music on that trip to New Orleans and back was a wepretty much like the Greene Boat; it was wealthy people who could afford the trip taking a winter vacation so to speak. So we played pretty much what we call now society music, in other words tunes from nusical &es and thhgs of that type. We didnlt play tm mch wild mic or anything like that. In other words in the music business you have ta tailor y~uxr style of playing, if you cm tailor it, to fit the mion. Depending on where you are and who you are working for, what they want. I know fm what my experience through, spsakhg of the Island Queen, they used to make trips in the spring & fall amthe season James Ault Memoir -- Archives, University of Illinois at Springfield James Ault 2 would clase here. They would normally, originally they usd to go all the way dawn to New Orleans. They'd rrake stops on ~e my dm. mybe Louisville for a muple of days. Ttnlo or three days, at smaller towns, just one night, sametimes they would pick up three ttrwns in one night. Evansville was good for two or three nights. Get on dawn to Maphis, stay thm maybe a week, and get dmto New Orleans fhally, and stay a month or two. This was back in the 1920's and usually when any of the bands that would be playing at that th, when they would get dawn to New Orleans we would still play practically the same style they played up here. In other words they wouldnlt change, that was the way the band played. Of course the regular New Orleans bands would play the style that they were accustmed to play*. A lot 09 ths the people would, there were excursion bats working out of New Orleans, in fact the Capitol was dmthere, There was a colared band on the boat, either a ten or twelve piece hnd, and they played typical of hm the bands played, the 1-e colored bands. B& a lot of times people would, instead of taking that excursion around the harbr of New Orleans, would cane over and take the Island Queen excursion which was a different boat to ride on, a different band to listen to, and like I say, it was a little different style than what they were accustmned to listen to. Even on the way down, like in Memphis the bands played pretty much in Maphis liked they played up here. In other words, with people hearing tunes an records aid radio, I mean maybe they didn't get sane of the latest tunes quite as fast as mey did, but in other words, the same type tunes predominated, We didn't go in for a lot of gut bucket or New Orleans jazz or anykhhg like that. Not that we didn't want to play that style, but like I say, we were trying to fit the occasion where we were working. There was a case, speaking about boats along the river, the steamer Avalon now, I can't remaker what the old name was but that htused to work out of Louisville. See a lot of times these boats changed names maybe three or four times. Q: I think it was the Idlewild or sonaething? A: Yes, that could have been. There was a band out of Lmisville, they used to cane, it was an exmion boat, they would go up the river out of Lmisville abut ten mile, 1 forget where they went naw. But I dethat boat several times just to, &cause they were &doing afternoon trips and we were only doing evening trips, Just to hear the band and meet the fellows and there again was a case of the band on the at.

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