SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY JOSEPH BERTHOL BONAPARTE BERTHOLOFF

SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY JOSEPH BERTHOL BONAPARTE BERTHOLOFF (WILLIE-THE-LION). Jazz pianist (25 November 1897 in Goshen, New York; 18 April 1973 in New York, New York). He came from a musical family. His maternal grandmother, a banjoist, toured with the Primrose and West Minstrels , and his mother played piano and organ in churches. He began to study music at an early age, at first with his mother on a house organ, then later piano. His family moved to Newark, New Jersey,...