P. G. Lowery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
P. G. Lowery
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P. G. Lowery holding a cornet
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Perry George Lowery |
| Born | October 11, 1869 Topeka, Kansas |
| Origin | Reece, Kansas U.S. |
| Died | December 15, 1942 (aged 73) Cleveland, Ohio |
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P. G. Lowery was an amazing American musician. His full name was Perry George Lowery. He was a composer, a conductor, and played the cornet. He was also a manager for circus sideshows that featured African American performers and musicians. He was born in Topeka, Kansas, on October 11, 1869. He passed away in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 15, 1942.
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Early Life and Musical Start
P. G. Lowery was born on October 11, 1869. He came from a family that loved music. When he was young, he played the drums in his family's band. Later, he learned to play the cornet, which is like a small trumpet.
P. G. Lowery: Circus Music Star
P. G. Lowery spent most of his music career working with traveling circuses. He was a performer, a manager, and a band leader. Around the year 1900, the United States was a very different place. There was a lot of segregation. This meant that Black people had fewer chances for jobs and success. Many African Americans worked in farming or as helpers.
But the circus offered new chances for P. G. Lowery and other Black musicians. Before movies became popular, traveling circuses were a huge form of entertainment. In the early 1900s, almost every circus had a special African-American sideshow band or a minstrel show.
Joining the Circus
In 1895, Lowery played the cornet in a band for a show called "Darkest America." This was with the Mallary Brothers Minstrels. The next year, he played with the Wallace Circus. After that, Lowery became a cornet player with the Original Nashville Students. He also played with P. T. Wright’s Colored Comedy Company.
Around 1897 or 1899, he studied music at the Boston Conservatory. He learned from a teacher named Henry C. Brown. In the summer of 1898, he was a solo cornet player. He performed at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska, with the Original Nashville Students.
In 1899, he started his own groups:
- The P.G. Lowery's Famous Concert Band
- P.G. Lowery's Vaudeville Company
This was a very important achievement. He was the first African American to bring his own vaudeville group to the circus. Vaudeville shows were like variety shows with different acts.
In the early 1900s, P. G. Lowery also wrote a newspaper column. It was called "The Cornet and Cornetists of Today." It appeared in a newspaper called The Freeman.
Leading Circus Bands
For the rest of his career, P. G. Lowery led and managed bands. These bands played in the sideshow tents of circuses. Black band leaders like Lowery worked hard to gain social and economic equality. They used their artistic and musical talents to achieve this.
Lowery worked with many famous circuses:
- Sells Brothers and Forepaugh's Circus
- Wallace and Hagenbeck
- Ringling Brothers
- Cole Brothers
- Barnum and Bailey
His longest time with one circus was from 1919 to 1931. During these years, he managed his own band for the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus.
