Comment by TONY BRYAN on January 3, 2021 at 14:01

I am surprised at Jody's analysis of the origins of 'Fun on the Wabash', as I would have thought this was one of the least controversial.

One starts with the fact that William Parke Hunter was an Indiana boy through and through.  Not only was he born in Bloomington, Ind., and went to college at Wabash College, Crawdfordsville, Ind., but his name was a reference to the local hero Capt. Benjamin Parke (later Judge Parke) who led the Indiana Light Dragoons in a charge against Chief Tucumseh's warriors at the Battle of Tippecanoe (a tributary of the Wabash). 

The Wabash River is the Indiana State river, and, rather obviously, runs through the town of Wabash.  Crawfordsville is on Sugar Creek, a major tributary of the Wabash, which it joins not too far away.  The state song is the one Jody mentions: 'On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away'.  This was written by a fellow Indianan, Paul Dresser, in 1897 - at the height of Hunter's fame - and it became a huge success nationwide.  It was adopted as the state song in 1913.  Dresser was an established performer and composer at the time, and toured the USA in various minstrel shows.  It is highly likely that he and Hunter met at some stage.  A reasonable assumption is that Hunter wrote 'Fun on the Wabash' knowing full well that it would spark an association with the current popular hit.  I haven't had a chance to compare the two, but Hunter would not be the only composer to parody or adapt Dresser's song - there were quite a few copyright battles associated with it. 

Richard is right to highlight Hunter's place references in his titles, but misses the fact that so many of them are (or probably are) Indiana associations: Alhambra March (apart from being the theatre in London where Mays and Hunter were so successful, it is also the name of the theatre where 'On the Banks of the Wabash Far Away' was first performed), Cavaly Patrol (Parke's Indiana Light Dragoons?), Chieftain March (Tucumseh?), Cherokee Ragtime March, Mohawk March, Navajo March, Redskin March (it wasn't called Indiana for nothing!), Flower Queen (Parke County - named after the hero - is the covered bridge capital of the world and has a Parke County Covered Bridge Festival where the bridges are adorned with flowers, and - I am guessing - there is a Flower Queen), Hoosier State March (Indiana is the Hoosier State), Indiana Echoes and Indiana March. 

'Fun on the Wabash' would have been a real association for Hunter, and not just an imaginary reference to a fanciful landscape.  At whatever stage in his career that he composed it, it would not have been many years after he left Crawfordsville and Wabash College. 

Regards

Tony

P.S. Once we've solved the origins of Pensacola, how about Pasadena March? 

Comment by thereallyniceman on January 3, 2021 at 14:37

All interesting stuff...a question though. A few years ago I did a short biography on Parke Hunter and discovered that he was called Morton Parke Hunter. I am pretty sure that I had referred to him as William Parke Hunter prior to that.  I wonder where the idea that he was called "William" came from as you suggest it too?

Here is my post of 2014:

William or Morton?

Comment by Jody Stecher on January 3, 2021 at 14:48

My doubt was not about Parke Hunter's association with Indiana as a factor in choosing the title. It was about the title being a specific reference to Wabash College.  

Comment by Richard William Ineson on January 3, 2021 at 16:47

Ian, if you remember I was in correspondence with you about the real name of Parke Hunter some years ago. My curiosity had been aroused because I kept coming across banjo compositions attributed to M.P.Hunter, some (the 'Boston Ideals' for one example) also bore a photograph of Mays and Hunter on the cover, and then there was the discovery of the song 'Santa Claus is Comin' 'Fore De Mornin', music and banjo arrangement by M.P.Hunter and words by C.L.Mays. Hunter's Grandfather was Morton Craig Hunter a Civil War General and prominent Bloomington citizen. I was in correspondence with some descendants of the Hunter family at the time, who confirmed this. Morton Parke Hunter was never called William, why would he be? The confusion has arisen, I think, because some people have assumed that the composer of the 'College Rag', William Hunter, was in fact Parke Hunter, which is not the case. Alfred Lane and J.MacNaghten/McNaughton both compiled a list ( Lane August 1954, Mac, May 1963, and April 1969,) of all of the Hunter compositions and arrangements which were known to them at the time, neither listed 'College Rag' as a Hunter composition, also, neither of them mentioned that Hunter was called William, if he had been so called, Alfred Lane would have known because he met Hunter when he (Lane) worked at the Metropolitan Music Hall during the time that Mays and Hunter were engaged there.

Comment by TONY BRYAN on January 3, 2021 at 16:53

Fortunately, the Player Biographies section has all the bases covered: it starts with Morton Parke Hunter and ends with William Parke Hunter.  W. M. Brewer in his BMG articles always refers to William Parke Hunter. 

I agree that it's unlikely Parke Hunter (whatever his first name was) ever wrote anything with Wabash College specifically in mind - they still don't list him as a famous alumnus.  Perhaps he should have tried his hand at composing the college song.  Or maybe someone could visit them sometime and suggest adding him to their list of 'local boys made good'. 

Comment by Richard William Ineson on January 3, 2021 at 17:35

Brewer did a good job in the days before the internet made access to public records easy. He made a mistake with the name of Morley's mother, Caswell/Maxwell and I believe that he fell into the 'College Rag', William Hunter trap. There is no doubt that the first name of Parke Hunter was Morton but we will never know why he discarded it, families have quarrels and hasty words can lead to feuds which last for many years. Perhaps the distinguished Grandfather didn't take kindly to his Grandson playing the banjo on the stage and would have preferred him to enter the legal profession, the army, or politics. My mother wanted me to learn to play the violin or the piano, but I wanted to play the banjo, she told me, "You will end up in the gutter playing that thing, but at least you'll have something with which to amuse yourself when you get there."

Comment by Jody Stecher on January 3, 2021 at 18:24

Richard,  my mother was not in favor of me taking up the banjo at age 12, but for different reasons. She was aware of there being more than one possible tuning. She thought this would make things horribly difficult for me, not understanding that "elevating" the bass string, for instance, makes fingering easier, not harder, for some repertoire. By the way,  it's not unusual in the USA for a person's middle name to be the one used by the person throughout their life.  

Comment by thereallyniceman on January 3, 2021 at 18:36

Hey Tony, thanks for pointing out my duplicity in mentioning William Parke Hunter in the biographies...  this is now corrected ;-)

Richard, Yes I remember you confirming that Morton was the man and that I found  the image of the grave of his grandfather General Morton C Hunter.  I also think that you are correct about his confusion with composer William Hunter.

I guess that W. M. Brewer in the BMG has a lot to answer for ;-)

Comment by Trapdoor2 on January 3, 2021 at 19:16

I always assumed that "Fun On The Wabash" alluded to the river. In 19th C parlance, it is common to read military accounts of battles that describe them as "fun". Example: "Tecumseh and his gang arrived and some fun was had." or "The yankees arrived and much fun ensued." I think the military connection is tenuous at best.

Then, I thought perhaps the kids from Wabash College probably used the river as a picnic area...but it is 30 miles away from the college and in 1890s terms, that is a long day on horseback or via buggy. No idea if there was a train available.

Of course, it could have been simply a name that popped in his head.

In any case, I love playing it on the Cello Banjo. I played it for friends at "Breaking Up Winter" (in Tennessee) a few years ago but could not get the nerve up to play it for Clarke Buehling later that evening. Ah well!

Comment by Shawn McSweeny on April 29, 2021 at 5:04

Facts from the 1901 UK Census :

Morton Hunter, b. 1877 (est), USA, musician, married, residing Bromwells Road, Clapham, London

Zillah Hunter, b. 1877 (est), Birmingham, Warwickshire, wife

Now for the speculation : Morton's middle initial may have been W. and this may not have been his first marriage 

From records for Montgomery County, Indiana,  :

Marriage of Morton W. Hunter to Leona M. Wheeler, October 1895.

W. could be for Whitney, Walter or Webster, as well as for William. Of course this may or may not be the same Morton Hunter, banjoist, (who is proving to be quite elusive in US Vital Stats records). 

BTW, regarding Parke : I recall, perhaps imperfectly, a banjo historian saying that he used his mother's maiden name, Parke, to create his stage name..

Add a Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page