R.I.P.: Ian Whitcomb, Pop Singer, Ragtime Performer

Ian Whitcomb 1941-2020

Ian Whitcomb, a consummate entertainer and storyteller who shared his gift in song, on the screen, on the page, and on the radio died on April 19th.

He was 78, according to The Syncopated Times.  He had suffered a stroke in 2012 which kept him partially out of the action in recent years but he still made appearances.

A natural entertainer he started his first band as an eight year old in boarding school playing a comb pressed to tissue paper. By the late fifties he formed skiffle and rock bands as those trends developed in the U-K, but he was already very interested in ragtime and early popular song. In 1961 he formed a band called The Ragtime Suwanee Six, which included his brother on drums.

His big break came with a Dublin based Rhythm and Blues band called Bluesville that he helped found while at Trinity College. They released a series of singles, the second charting in the US and the third, “You Turn Me On” becoming a top ten hit.  That summer he toured the U-S with British Invasion bands including The Rolling Stones and The Kinks, returning to school in the fall to complete his degree in history.

During the 70s, as Ragtime saw a renewed popularity he was right there in the mix recording albums of rags, vaudeville and music hall numbers on his ukulele , and even cutting piano rolls. He took several acting roles in the 70s including for the PBS special Ragtime. His songs can be heard in a dozen major movies released from the 1980s through to the 2000s.

His recreation of the parlor music that would have been heard on the Titanic, produced as an album in conjunction with the blockbuster film, brought him a Grammy nomination for his comprehensive liner notes.

He ran a radio show for 15 years on several stations and much later, in the internet age, an online program. His heart was with the Ragtime community as was lovingly shared in a recent essay written by our Larry Melton. Whitcomb appeared regularly at festivals over a span of 40 years, and regularly participated in smaller events near his home ever eager to spread his joy for the music and its history with his band The Bungalow Boys or in am entertaining duo with his wife Regina.