Ruby Brooks: The Champion of the Banjo

In the era of Tin Pan Alley, a few recording artists tried to unite their record making with sheet music publishing. In the latter 19th century, sheet music sales still indicated what was popular, and it would take a few decades for records to catch up. While Fred Hylands and Len Spencer were among the earliest to try this, the very first was Ruby Brooks. Although Brooks joined the phonograph world rather late, he made an unusual impact on the business. Reuben Brooks was born September 12, 1861, in Stamford, Connecticut. His father William was a barber in the area. As a child, Brooks wasn’t necessarily surrounded by music, but he soon became fascinated by it. With this fascination, he taught himself how to play the banjo. By 1880, he was working regularly as a banjoist; he shows up in several Connecticut papers from 1882 onward. According to one article from the time, he gained his national fame from an 1887 banjo contest held in New York. Among the others who entered were a 19-year-old Vess Ossman, and Brooklyn native Harry Denton. Brooks took the prize, and decided that Harry Denton (who placed second in the contest) could be a good stage partner, as they mutually admired one another’s skill on the instrument. Ossman wasn’t satisfied with