Ragtime composer Percy Wenrich was 'The Joplin Kid'

Apr. 8—Percy Wenrich, one of Joplin's native sons, is today perhaps best known locally as being the guy that gave Dover Hill its name.

But he did much more over his lifetime than just write a song whose lyrics are often believed to have inspired the name of the hill in north Joplin that now holds an elementary school of the same name. He was a successful composer, musician and vaudevillian, and he was instrumental in the ragtime scene of the early 20th century.

Wenrich was born on Jan. 23 in either 1880 or 1887 in Joplin, according to differing sources. His father, Daniel, was the postmaster; his mother, Mary, taught him how to play organ and piano from a young age. He was "a handsome but rather shy and nerdy fellow who became a pop music genius," writes David Soren, regents professor of anthropology and classical studies at the University of Arizona, home to the American Vaudeville Museum.

At age 21, he enrolled in the Chicago Music College, which was run by Florenz Ziegfield Sr., father of the Broadway producer. As a college student, he published his first songs, "Ashy Africa" and "Just Because I'm From Missouri," according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, to which Wenrich would be inducted in 1970.

He later worked with one of Chicago's leading music publishers, McKinley Music Co., Soren wrote, and met the beautiful ragtime singer Dolly Connolly.

"He served as a song plugger for the company and also wrote some modestly successful tunes for them, particularly rags, and around this time he somehow ran into Dolly and they were married after a whirlwind courtship," Soren wrote. "As part of the marriage agreement, they would become a team, and she would not give up her career for love, as women were normally expected to do at this time. The result was many hits and a successful touring life for the team for at least three years on the vaudeville circuit, where he became known as 'The Joplin Kid.'"

He and Connolly performed in vaudeville for more than 15 years, and he composed three successful Broadway scores, according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame: "Crinoline Girl," "The Right Girl" and "Castles in the Air." He also was a founding member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Wenrich moved to New York City around 1907 to work as a composer and produced several hits, including "Rainbow," which sold at least 1 million copies, "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet," "When You Wore A Tulip and I Wore A Big Red Rose," which sold several million copies, and "Where Do We Go From Here, Boys," according to The Lambs Inc., a New York-based professional theatrical club to which he was elected in 1918.

Origin of Dover Hill's name

It was "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet" that is thought to have given Joplin's Dover Hill its name. The song, published in 1909, was composed by Wenrich, with lyrics by Stanley Murphy:

"Put on your old grey bonnet with the blue ribbon on it,

"While I hitch old Dobbin to the shay,

"And through the fields of clover / We'll drive up to Dover,

"On our golden wedding day."

It's not clear if there was a real Dover Hill that existed at the time of the song's composition and publication, or where it was located. According to a report that appeared in the Globe in 1951, the Dover Hill referred to in the song was a few miles west of Joplin near the Missouri-Kansas line.

Wenrich returned to the limelight in 1951, when Warner Brothers made the film "On Moonlight Bay" using his 1912 song as the title song . In honor of Wenrich, the film studio scheduled the premiere for July 27, 1951, in Joplin's Paramount theater, according to Globe archives.

Mayor H. Chris Oltman issued a proclamation designating "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet" as Joplin's official song.

The proclamation, prepared by the city and chamber of commerce, was signed by officials and more than 50 of Wenrich's friends and acquaintances in the city, according to the archives. At the ceremony, George Spiva accepted it on behalf of Wenrich, who was in ill health and could not attend.

The Lambs published a profile of Wenrich in their July/August 1951 newsletter as his health was failing:

"He's not bitter, the Joplin Kid. He's not the type. He's had a grand life, a full life; he's made people happy and they've been good to him and what else is there? His eyes still sparkle when he talks to showfolks and his memories keep him young," the authors wrote. "... The Joplin Kid has indeed walked with kings without losing the common touch, and in this bebop-reefer-happy-dust era, it's inspiring to visit a Brother Lamb like Percy Wenrich; there are so very few of them left. We hope Percy will be around a long, long time."

Wenrich died on March 17, 1952, in New York City. He was 72. He is interred in Fairview Cemetery in Joplin.