Wenrich, Percy

Percy Wenrich Composer Joplin, Missouri, January 23, 1880; New York City, March 17, 1952. Wenrich attended Chicago Musical College and worked for McKinley Music Company, where he wrote melodies to verses that would-be lyricists submitted. He also composed songs, rags, intermezzi, waltzes, and whatever else was needed. Wenrich’s initial success came in composing rags. His first major effort was “Peaches and Cream” (1905) for Jerome Remick . His biggest rag hit was “The Smiler” (1907), which was…