England's crown jewel of novelty and syncopated piano compositions, Billy Mayerl, was born in 1902 on London's West End. He took to the piano at a very early age, and by the time he was seven he was advanced enough to be studying at the Trinity College of Music. For all of the tenet of theory and harmony they taught him, his added ingredients of syncopation and musical wit surpassed those studies in short order. His earliest paying gigs included playing piano at the usual dances of the 1910s as well as accompanying silent movies in London and beyond. His wit translated particularly well to the movies, in which even with the piano, certain aspects of the scenario can be enhanced with the proper background. Not being in structured groups, when he was outside of the traditional schooling, allowed Billy the chance to play around with his own ideas and get audience reaction and feedback at the same time.
By the time Mayerl was 20 he was the resident pianist for a Southampton hotel. It was there that British bandleader and saxophonist Bert Ralton first heard him, and instantly sought to hire him for his Havana Band (Cuban music had been gaining in popularity throughout the late 1910s) at London's Savoy Hotel. Allowed to more or less be himself within the bounds of the music, Mayerl instantly brought a new level of musicianship and whimsy to the band. Even though he had been classically trained, Billy was quickly gaining a grasp on the popular music repertoire as well as the novelties that were coming out of new school of composition in the U.S., making him an audience favorite. From 1923 to 1926 Mayerl was a featured soloist with the band in the earliest years of the BBC, a time when most people were listening with crystal sets or early ether-tube radios. Having steady work made it easier for him to start composing his own works, and subsequently record them as well. It was during this period that he met and married another pianist, Jill Bernini (who would later help inspire him to work out duet arrangements as well). It was with the band that Mayerl tipped his hat to the talented George Gershwin, who along with Fred and Adele Astaire was becoming a frequent American fixture in London, by playing for the first British performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue on October 28, 1925.
In 1926 Mayerl left the Havana band to pursue a solo career in recording and composition. While maintaining a schedule with the BBC, he also toured the UK performing in venues of all sizes, taking time off to create increasingly complex syncopations for publication. Among these were his signature tune, Marigold, and the fascinating Chopsticks (not the kiddies' waltz by any stretch). In the late 1920s, working with a couple librettists, Billy also helped write a few musical comedies combining clever musical riffs with often less than clever lyrics. More importantly, he started publishing not just his own works, but some transcriptions of other composer's pieces he had recorded, helping set new standards for interpretation and performance, much as Fats Waller and Art Tatum were doing in the 1930s. One interesting publication consisted of nothing but 100 syncopated breaks, the patterns used during non-melodic portions of a performance, giving out some major secrets of performance while making some money off of other pianists as well.
In the 1930s, Mayerl established a correspondence course for instruction in piano and composition, a virtual college of sorts, which did very well in spite of the world-wide depression. An increasing number of his compositions were in the form of suites, related pastiches that formed an overall picture of something. The most famous of these was his Four Aces Suite, which was published for both two and four hands. In response to one of the titles bestowed upon him by admiring music critics, he also composed The Nimble Fingered Gentleman, which would be associated with him throughout his career. The run of good fortune ended in 1940 as the UK became a victim of Nazi aggression, limiting opportunities for Mayerl's line of work. He spent the war primarily in London, although publishing very little during this time, and mostly recording when conditions allowed.
Once peace had been reestablished, Billy renewed his ties with radio, a medium that had gained a larger following just before and throughout the war. He also jumped hemispheres bringing his music briefly to the US, then on to Australia and New Zealand. One of his most interesting late works comes from right after the war, four suites of three pieces each titled In My Garden, his contribution to the legacy of pieces about the four seasons. During the 1950s he made limited appearances, but still put out new publications from time to time. Billy Mayerl (a heavy smoker for many years) finally met his demise from a heart attack in 1959. His novelties remain popular into the 21st century, being rediscovered by a new generation of ragtime and stride pianists.