Don Franz of the St. Louis Ragtimers has died

Don Franz, tuba player and a founding member of the St. Louis Ragtimers, died August 28 in St. Louis. He was 92. A musician, engineer, and former co-owner of the Goldenrod Showboat, Franz helped sustain both the sound and the setting of St. Louis’ ragtime revival.

Donald Roy Franz was born October 9, 1933, and grew up in Brentwood, Missouri. He served in the Navy, worked as an engineer, and taught at Washington University, where he met his future wife, Margaret Ogilvy, in the early 1970s. Their marriage lasted more than 52 years; she died in December 2025.

Franz was already playing traditional jazz internationally before the Ragtimers formed. In 1959 he toured Germany and the Netherlands with the Chicago Stompers, alongside Ed and Jean Kittrell, trombonist Stan Vincent, clarinetist John Carlson, and banjoist Carl Lunsford. Vincent remembered the group as “a very tight and hard-driving sextet,” rehearsing in the afternoons and playing long hours seven days a week.

In 1961, Franz joined pianist Trebor Tichenor and banjoist Al Stricker in the group that became the St. Louis Ragtimers. Cornetist Bill Mason soon joined them. The band established itself at the Natchez Queen in Gaslight Square before becoming closely identified with the Goldenrod on the St. Louis riverfront. Its repertoire brought together classic rags, cakewalks, stomps, blues, and early popular songs, appealing equally to ragtime and traditional jazz audiences.

Franz and business partner Frank Pierson owned the Goldenrod and restored it following a 1962 fire. The refurbished showboat became the home of the National Ragtime Festival, inaugurated in 1965 with the Ragtimers as hosts. Its early programs featured such musicians as “Knocky” Parker, John Arpin, Max Morath, and Wally Rose; Eubie Blake appeared in 1971. The festival became an important gathering place for the musicians and listeners driving the ragtime revival.

Franz’s tuba supplied much more than a steady foundation. Writing earlier this year, Jeff Barnhart praised his “rich, full-bodied” tone and “admirable control of dynamics,” as well as the agile breaks he contributed to the Ragtimers’ “Chattanooga Stomp.” Hal Smith described his playing elsewhere as “authoritative, but understated.” Franz also played bass saxophone.

After retiring from engineering, Franz devoted more time to music. He gradually moved from tuba to banjo and continued attending the St. Louis Banjo Club until approximately two years before his death. A remembrance by Daniel Kietz recalled his warmth, generosity, and enduring attachment to his hometown.