303:. Maddox toured fairgrounds across the country in the late 1950s and early '60s with Swenson's Thrillcade, playing on a piano placed on the back of a pickup truck that was lifted by a hydraulic lift as high as fifteen feet. His longest professional engagement was at the Red Slipper Room in Denver, Colorado's Cherry Creek Inn, where he played for seventeen years. Maddox befriended many more musicians and performers from the ragtime and vaudeville days in his travels, including
149:. Maddox's first single, "St. Louis Tickle" with "Crazy Bone Rag" on the flip side (recorded May 19, 1950), sold over 22,000 copies in only a few weeks. He became the first successful artist on Dot, and his instant success helped build Dot into one of the most popular labels of the 1950s. He signed with
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charts for twenty weeks, peaking at #2 for seven weeks, and became the first million-selling all-piano record, eventually selling more than two million copies. Schulz-Reichel then came to the United States and recorded for
349:, Colorado, where he played from 1996 to 2012. He owned one of the largest collections of popular sheet music in the world, likely totaling near 100,000 pieces. He died on November 27, 2018, at the age of 91.
338:, Austria, around 1970. Tired of life on the road, he attempted to retire from show business. Soon, however, he was back performing in the United States and began a long residency at Il Porto Ristorante in
138:, Tennessee. He played his first public concert when he was five and began his professional career in 1939 playing with a local dance band, the Rhythmasters, led by J. O. "Temp" Templeton.
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in St. Louis and later played in vaudeville. Maddox studied classical music for nineteen years with
Margaret Neal and Prudence Simpson Dresser, who studied in Europe for a short time with
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of WERE in
Cleveland, Ohio, suggested to Randy Wood that Maddox record a version of the song and use "The Crazy Otto Medley" as the title. Maddox's record was on the
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Maddox began collecting antique sheet music, 78s, cylinders, piano rolls, photographs, and more at a very young age. He sold much of his first collection to
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In 1954, Maddox was declared the Number One
Jukebox Artist in America by the MOA (Music Operators of America). In January 1955, he recorded "
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126:. His interest in the ragtime era was fueled by his great-aunt Zula Cothron. She played with an all-girls' orchestra at the 1904
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He retired in 1992 but was then coaxed to perform at the
Historic Strater Hotel's Diamond Belle Saloon in
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Maddox continued to record for Dot
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402:"John "Johnny" Sheppard Maddox Jr. AUGUST 4, 1927 ~ NOVEMBER 27, 2018 (AGE 91) Obituary"
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and began touring nightclubs across the country. In Dallas, Texas, he appeared with
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song "Ramble on Rose" is a reference to Maddox's hit record. Maddox performed
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A caricature of Maddox was placed in the main dining room of the
Hollywood
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Reffkin, David (February 2004). "An
Interview with Johnny Maddox".
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in March 1955 and played "The Crazy Otto Medley" on Milton Berle's
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under the name "Crazy Otto". The reference to "Crazy Otto" in the
219:'s "Ivory Rag", several German folk songs, and Irving Berlin's "
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185:. His first record to sell over a million copies was probably "
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After hearing him play in 1952, the "Father of the Blues",
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Melinsky, Dorothy (June 1976). "The
Ragtime Missionary".
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pianist, historian, and collector of music memorabilia.
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at Randy's Record Shop in
Gallatin, where Wood founded
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in
November 1956. One of his later appearances was on
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on May 31, 1955. He appeared with two other pianists,
193:. Another one of his most popular early records was "
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1980s TV Interview with Metro Talent Showcase: Part 3
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1980s TV Interview with Metro Talent Showcase: Part 2
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1980s TV Interview with Metro Talent Showcase: Part 1
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He is the only ragtime pianist to earn a star on the
110:(August 4, 1927 – November 27, 2018) was an American
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under the pseudonym "Otto der Schrage". Disc jockey
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223:". The medley was originally recorded on the
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463:"Crazy Otto Music – Purveyors of Ragtime"
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533:"Johnny Maddox | Hollywood Walk of Fame"
295:. At the annual Hillbilly Homecoming in
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639:20th-century American male musicians
449:Maddox, Johnny. Personal scrapbooks.
16:American ragtime pianist (1927–2018)
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128:Louisiana Purchase Exposition
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629:Musicians from Tennessee
507:"Johnny Maddox has Died"
332:Brigham Young University
227:label by German pianist
108:John Sheppard Maddox Jr.
34:John Sheppard Maddox Jr.
634:American male pianists
513:. The Syncopated Times
366:Brown Derby Restaurant
359:Hollywood Walk of Fame
309:Butterbeans and Susie
213:The Crazy Otto Medley
199:The Pee Wee King Show
323:, Glenn Rowell, and
277:The Soupy Sales Show
229:Fritz Schulz-Reichel
221:Play a Simple Melody
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492:The Mississippi Rag
432:The Mississippi Rag
340:Old Town Alexandria
255:Texaco Star Theatre
124:Gallatin, Tennessee
52:Gallatin, Tennessee
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64:(2018-11-27)
604:2018 deaths
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412:December 7,
374:Rudy Vallee
301:Patsy Cline
270:'s program
260:Hazel Scott
233:Bill Randle
206:W. C. Handy
195:In the Mood
175:Pat Flowers
167:Eddy Arnold
147:Dot Records
132:Franz Liszt
593:Categories
542:20 January
472:20 January
467:Crazy Otto
388:References
382:Bill Haley
325:Joe Jordan
289:Stork Club
268:Patti Page
143:Randy Wood
95:Instrument
87:Occupation
45:1927-08-04
30:Birth name
336:Bad Ischl
317:Ted Lewis
297:Maryville
237:Billboard
217:Lou Busch
191:Bob Wills
368:next to
264:Joe Loco
169:and the
136:Gallatin
90:Musician
347:Durango
321:Gus Van
225:Polydor
112:ragtime
81:ragtime
380:, and
181:, and
73:Genres
54:, U.S.
266:, on
242:Decca
189:" by
98:Piano
544:2016
519:2018
474:2016
414:2018
262:and
161:and
77:Jazz
59:Died
39:Born
151:MCA
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