Artist Info: Ben Harney

Benjamin Robertson "Ben" Harney (6 March 1872 – 2 March 1938) was a United States of America songwriter, entertainer, and pioneer of ragtime music. His 1895 composition "You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down" is regarded as one of the first published ragtime songs.[citation needed] In 1924, the New York Times wrote that Ben Harney "probably did more to popularize ragtime than any other person." Time Magazine termed him "Ragtime's Father" in 1938. [read more...]