Joe Bolton

Joe Bolton was the pseudonym under which Joe Batten recorded ragtime and other ‘light’ pieces when he was with Edison Bell Records between 1920 and 1927. Born in 1885 in Hoxton, east London, he was entirely self-taught and earned his early crusts teaching other aspiring pianists. But he built a long career for himself in the recording studios, which, before the First World War, were concentrated in the City Road area of London. Joe Batten claimed to have worked as a pianist for 39 of the seventy or so companies that existed before 1914, including now long-forgotten names, such as Neophone and Musiphone. He joined Edison Bell as recording manager, but worked also as a conductor, composer and anonymous accompanist to vocalists and other instrumental players. After leaving Edison Bell, he joined the Columbia division of EMI and then its Special Recordings unit. Piano Man Rag is much more of a real ragtime tune than Max Darewski’s Monkey Blues, but it’s a great pity the Edison Bell studio had such a poor acoustic, which makes it difficult to hear some of its more interesting musical flourishes. As far as is known, Joe Batten’s only other ragtime recordings were made – under his real name – for Popular before the First World War. (I am indebted to Joe Batten’s grandson, Michael Lloyd-Davies, for the information on his early career.)