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Ben Harney is generally said to have been born in Louisville, Kentucky, although some sources put his birthplaces as Nashville, Tennessee. Harney was light skinned with red hair; early in his career he played with African American theater troops, but later in his career he represented himself as white. James P. Johnson referred to him as a "Negro", while W.C. Handy referred to him as "white". Some historians still debate Harney's ethnic background.
Harney's tunes "You've Been a Good Old Wagon, But You've Done Broke Down", "Mister Johnson, Turn Me Loose", and "Cake Walk In The Sky" were big hits in the mid 1890sEvents and trends Technology Early commercial production of automobiles. Science Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity Discovery of x-rays by Wilhelm Rontgen Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius and US geologist Thomas Crowder Chamberlain independently co.
In January of 1896Events January 4 Utah is admitted as the 45th U. January 5 An Austrian newspaper reports that Wilhelm Rontgen discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays. January 12 H. Smith takes the first X-ray photograph. January 18 The X-ray machine is exhib Ben Harney moved to New York CitySkyline, with Statue of Liberty New York, New York" redirects here. For alternate meanings, see New York, New York (disambiguation). New York — officially named City of New York and often called New York City to distinguish it from the state of New York,, where he appeared regularly at Tony PastorFor Tony Pastor the saxophonist and bandleader see Tony Pastor (bandleader). Antonio Pastor born May 28, 1837 in Brooklyn, New York, United States died August 26, 1908 in Elmhurst, New York was an entertainer and the person who invented vaudeville. Tony P's Music Hall. That same year Harney was referred to in print as "the rag time pianist".
In 1897Events January 1 Brooklyn, New York merges with New York City. January 4 A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosheri, son-in-law of the Oba of Benin. This leads to a Punitive Expedition against Benin. February 2 The Pennsylvania state capitol is dest Harney published his book The Ragtime Instructor, the first comprehensive description of ragtime, with instructions of how to rag (add syncopated rhythms to) tunes, including giving written examples of ragged versions of light classics and opera songs.
Harney toured widely on the VaudevilleVaudeville is a style of theater, also known as variety which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. Its popularity rose in step with the rise of industry and the growth of North American cities during this period, and declined with circuts in the USA, as well as tours of theaters in EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se and AsiaThe continent of Asia is defined by subtracting Europe and Africa from the great land mass of Africa-Eurasia. The boundaries are vague, especially between Asia and Europe: Asia and Africa meet somewhere near the Suez Canal. The boundary between Asia and E. Once ragtime became popular he started billing himself as The Originator of Ragtime or The Father of Ragtime, which most (but not all) of his contemporaries thought was an overstatement for the sake of advertising. Harney's act included him playing piano, singing (including scat singing), and dancing. He sometimes performed in blackface.
Harney quit touring after suffering from a heart attack in 1928.
Ben Harney died of a heart attack in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.