Felix G. Arndt (May 20, 1889 to October 16, 1918)
Compositions
1908 71st Regiment Waltz 1911 As Long As the Band Will Play [w/Harold Atteridge] Snow Time [w/Bert Fitzgibbon] If That Ain't Love Wot Is? [1] 1913 When You Know Why [1] Ev'ry Rose Reminds Me of You [1] 1914 A Symphonic Nightmare: Desecration     Rag #1 From Soup to Nuts	1914 (Cont) Marionette Kakuda 1915 Nola Toots 1916 An Operatic Nightmare: Desecration     Rag #2 1918 In the Shade of the Mango Tree [1] My Gal's Another Gal Like Galli-Curci [1] Clover Club    1. w/Louis Weslyn

     Felix Arndt, regarded by some as the earliest proponent of the novelty piano style, was born to royalty, at least in a sense. His mother, Carolyn, was the Countess Fevrier of France (although she was born in Spain), who was reportedly related to Napoleon III. His father, Hugo, was a carpenter. He also had a younger sister named Charlotte. Born in the U.S., Felix was educated in the New York City public school system, greatly improved as the influence of Tammany Hall was waning, and usually fostering those who wanted to play instruments in the requisite school band. He took up the piano on his own, but later sought out advanced training in harmony and theory. Once out of school, his talent for arranging was quickly recognized by publishers, and he got a job composing special material on demand for several years, including for vaudeville stars such as the husband and wife team of Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth, and often with fellow composer Gus Edwards. He was also a charter member of ASCAP, founded by several musicians in an effort to provide a focal registration point for protecting copyrights and distributing royalties. His steady gig for a time was as the organist for New York’s famed Trinity Church, right on Wall Street and a focal point in the days following the WTC disaster of 2001. He was shown in 1910 as still living with his family, and as a musician working for a publisher.
     One of his more fortuitous breaks came in 1913 when he started at QRS during the advent of "hand-played" piano rolls. Being a fine arranger and pianist, it allowed him the opportunity to advance his skills when applied to other composer's works, and helped him in his first compositions as well the following year. Arndt also became a staff musician for Aeolian Hall, creating Duo-Art reproducing rolls in the Popular Music genre. In his three years for the two companies he reportedly created over 3,000 rolls, equating to four or five on an average work day. It was also during this period that he produced his first composition that is now considered a classic novelty, A Symphonic Nightmare: Desecration Rag (#1), an amusing send up of well known symphonic pieces in a complex syncopated format. It was followed by the unusual From Soup to Nuts, and a piece that would be the harbinger of genius yet to come, Marionette.
     It was also during this period in 1915 that he met his famous muse, Nola Locke, a professional singer with the St. Louis symphony, and a vocal teacher as well. Soon after they were engaged, he wrote his signature piece, Nola - A Silhouette for the Piano. A lilting tune made up largely of interesting patterns, and melodic lines that utilize both hands and span pretty much the entire keyboard, it was a much admired template for what would become the genre of novelty piano in the 1920s. Ten months after the piece was composed they were happily wed. A later attempt to turn it into an unsingable song was met with lukewarm response, but Nola managed to remain in print throughout the 20th century, selling millions of copies to hopeful pianists who wanted to try and catch that unique style. In the 1930s, orchestra leader Vincent Lopez made it his theme, giving it radio exposure as well. Guitarist Les Paul even had a top-ten with it in the 1950s using his revolutionary multi-tracking guitar recording technique.
     It was over the next two years that Felix really started to find his niche. There was a second Descration, An Operatic Nightmare: Desecration Rag #2 (the first was renumbered at this time), and a nice dance piece titled Clover Club. This was also the time when young George Gershwin looked briefly to Arndt as a mentor of sorts, with Felix likely getting him a job with Aeolian Hall in early 1916 (which Felix soon left), and potentially inspiring or even contributing a bit to the single rag that Gershwin wrote, Rialto Ripples. He also may have introduced George to Irving Caesar, with which Gershwin would later pen his first and biggest hit, Swanee. His 1917 draft card shows him as an employee of Aeolian, and the sole support for Nola and his mother. Then the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic struck the world, and New York City was hard hit. The flu deprived the world of Felix Arndt shortly before WWI had ended. Nola went on, and interestingly enough was known to have lived for a time with their mutual friend Caesar. But his music and style were most certainly influential on a number of composers of the 1920s, and they help provide us a continuation of his legacy and the potential he possessed.