Les C. Copeland

Leslie Crawford Copeland (June 4, 1887 – March 3, 1942) was an American composer and pianist. Leslie was the youngest of six children born to Willis Emerson Copeland and Fannie Amelia Searles. He was an acquaintance of S. Brunson Campbell, a white player who had studied under Scott Joplin in Sedalia, Missouri. In his late teens, he performed in Lew Dockstader’s minstrel troupe, the Lew Dockstader Minstrels. At this same time, he would write three notable rags which were featured in the Minstrels: Cabbage Leaf Rag, Invitation Rag (containing heavy foreshadowing of the novelty piano genre ), and the Dockstader Rag. He also wrote songs during this time. After 1912, Copeland left the Dockstader company and began performing in vaudeville, working for various companies including that of Benjamin Franklin Keith. During this time, he wrote several songs for vaudeville with lyricist Jean Havez. He also wrote his famous “38th Street Rag” in this period. Copeland continued performing, eventually contributing a song (I Ain’t Married No More) to the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917. His work took him across the U.S. and parts of Europe, performing at various venues such as the New York Bar in New York Cit