May Aufderheide

Cover page to the sheet music of "Blue Ribbon Rag", 1910.

May Frances Aufderheide (May 21, 1888 - September 1, 1972) was an American composer of ragtime music. She was probably the best known among female ragtime composers.^[1] She received training in art music and visited Europe on a grand tour, yet decided to compose in ragtime.^[1]

May Aufderheide was a member of the Indianapolis ragtime community that included Paul Pratt, Cecil Duane Crabbe, J. Russel Robinson, Will B. Morrison, Julia Lee Niebergall, and Gladys Yelvington. The popularity of her first published rag, "Dusty", convinced her father, Indianapolis loan broker J. H. Aufderheide, to enter the music publishing business.

1 Songs
2 Marriage
3 References
4 See also

Songs

She went on to compose and publish "Richmond Rag", "The Thriller", "Buzzer Rag," "Blue Ribbon Rag", "A Totally Different Rag," "Novelty Rag", and "Dusty Rag," plus a number of waltzes and other songs including "I'll Pledge My Heart To You," and a song version of "A Totally Different Rag" with lyrics by Earle C. Jones. Other songs include: "I Want A Patriotic Girl" with Bobby Jones, "I Want A Real Lovin' Man" with Paul Pratt, and "Dusty Rag" with J. Will Callahan.

Marriage

She married Thomas M. Kaufman in 1908, the year her first rag was published.^[1] She stopped publishing early due to family difficulties with an alcoholic husband and a troubled adopted child.^[1] She died in Pasadena, California, aged 84.