Louise V. Moore Gustin Taylor (December 23, 1868 – August 29, 1949) was an American composer of popular music.

Louise V. Gustin
Born
Louise Vivian Moore

December 23, 1868
Jackson, Michigan
DiedAugust 29, 1949
New York City
NationalityAmerican
Other namesL. V. Gustin, Louise V. Taylor
Occupationcomposer

Early life

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Louise Vivian Moore was born in Jackson, Michigan, the daughter of Francis B. Moore and Louisa Rawlings Moore. Both of her parents were immigrants from Great Britain. Her father worked for the railroad, and her mother was a shopkeeper.[1]

 
Sheet music for Louise V. Gustin, "Topsy Turvy: Two Step" (1899).

Career

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Louise V. Gustin was a music teacher and piano demonstrator in Detroit when she began publishing her compositions with her colleague, Frederick E. Belcher (husband of composer Henriette Blanke-Belcher).[2] Belcher's catalog was soon acquired by Whitney-Warner Publishing, and then Jerome H. Remick, giving Gustin a wider potential audience beyond Detroit.[1]

Published works by Gustin included "Carmelita", "Maids of Paradise", "Topsy Turvy" (1899), "An Old Virginia Cake Walk" (1899), "Dominion March" (1899), "The Daughter of the Regiment" (1900),[3] "Janice Meredith: Waltzes" (1900), "When Knighthood Was in Flower: Waltzes" (1900),[4] "X-N-Tric: Two Step" (1900), "Soldier of Fortune March" (1901), "Mistress Nell: Waltzes" (1901), "Viola Waltzes" (1901), "Lindy" (1902), "Neome: Waltzes (1903), "In Love's Garden" (1904), "MM and MCB March Two-Step" (1905), "Let's Trot" (1915),[5] and "Waltz with Me: Waltzes" (1915).[6]

Some of Gustin's music was available for player pianos.[7] Writer and composer Monroe Rosenfeld mentioned her as an example when he praised "the great number of clever writers and composers that make Detroit their home," adding that "Many of these are young women."[8] She is listed among the earliest women writing jazz piano pieces.[9]

Personal life

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Louise Vivian Moore married James Gustin in 1887. They had a son, Frank Nellis Gustin (1888-1903). The Gustins divorced in 1895.[10] She married her second husband, Harry Bennison Taylor,[3] in Toronto in 1899. They had a daughter, Mary Louise Taylor, born in 1907. Louise Gustin Taylor was widowed when Harry Taylor died in 1928.[11] She died in 1949, aged 80 years, in New York City, where she lived with her daughter.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Edwards, Bill. "Louise V. Moore Gustin Taylor" RagPiano.com.
  2. ^ "Opening of Our Music Dept. Under New Management (advertisement)". Detroit Free Press. February 11, 1898. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "The Daughter of the Regiment". Detroit Free Press. July 28, 1900. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Gustin, Louise V. (1900). "When Knighthood was in Flower : Waltzes". Music of Michigan Sheet Music Collection, Library of Michigan. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  5. ^ Milan, Jon (2009). Detroit: Ragtime and the Jazz Age. Arcadia Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 9780738561134.
  6. ^ Tjaden, Ted. Women Composers of Ragtime.
  7. ^ Music for the Simplex Piano Player: June, 1906. Simplex Piano Player Company. June 1906. pp. 12, 254.
  8. ^ "Writer of Popular Songs". Detroit Free Press. June 10, 1900. p. 36. Retrieved July 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Porter, Lewis (1984). ""She Wiped All the Men Out": Jazzwomen Part I". Music Educators Journal. 71 (1): 43–52. doi:10.2307/3396332. ISSN 0027-4321. JSTOR 3396332. S2CID 151363730.
  10. ^ "Before Judge Adams". Detroit Free Press. December 13, 1895. p. 5. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Harry B. Taylor Dies Suddenly". Detroit Free Press. May 29, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved July 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Mrs. Louise V. Taylor". Detroit Free Press. August 31, 1949. p. 8. Retrieved July 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.