Circus Band Trouping 1910-1918
In 1910 at the age of 19, he began a short career playing baritone in and directing circus bands. That year, he joined the Robinson Famous Shows under conductor Woodring Van Anda (“Woody Van”). The next year he was performing in the Yankee Robinson Circus band under Theo. Stout. In 1912, he performed in the Sells-Floto Circus under W.P. English (a famous march composer), and in 1913 in the Barnum and Bailey band under Ned Brill. At the request of Brill he wrote (and dedicated to Brill) “Barnum & Bailey’s Favorite”, his most famous march and possibly the most recognizable American music written specifically for the circus. It would soon be adopted as the theme of the circus.
His first full-time conducting job was in 1914 through 1915 with the Sells Floto Circus and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show combined shows band. He became bandmaster for the Sells-Floto Circus in 1915 and was bandmaster of the Barnum and Bailey Circus band 1917-1918. In his final band, he included his wife Ruth (Lovett) as the calliope performer. He had married Ruth November 17, 1916.
In an interview in the last year of his life, King stated that his proudest moment was conducting the Barnum and Bailey band in Madison Square Garden.
Read more about this topic: Karl King
Famous quotes containing the words circus and/or band:
“Winter and summer till old age began
My circus animals were all on show,
Those stilted boys, that burnished chariot,
Lion and woman and the Lord knows what.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one’s heroic ancestors. It’s astounding to me, for example, that so many people really seem to believe that the country was founded by a band of heroes who wanted to be free. That happens not to be true. What happened was that some people left Europe because they couldn’t stay there any longer and had to go someplace else to make it. They were hungry, they were poor, they were convicts.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)