03 - George W. Thomas, Jr.
by John Tennison — History of Boogie Woogie • People
On page 2 of his 1940 "Boogie Woogie and Blues Folio,"63 in his annotation to the reprint of the 1923 sheet music of George W. Thomas, Jr.‘s "New Orleans Hop Scop Blues," (first published in 1916 by George W. Thomas) Clarence Williams states:
"The ‘Boogie Woogie’ originated in Texas many years ago. It wasn’t called the ‘Boogie Woogie’ then. George Thomas was the fellow who used this style and first wrote it down."63
The image above of George Washington Thomas, Jr., is from Page 2 of Clarence Williams’ 1940 "Boogie Woogie and Blues Folio"63
"Texas as the state of origin became reinforced by Jelly Roll Morton who said he heard the boogie piano style there early in the century; so did Leadbelly and so did Bunk Johnson."74
— 1983, Rosetta Reitz [Leadbelly reported hearing Boogie Woogie in 1899. — see section on Leadbelly.]
