William A. Huntley

William A. Penno
Portrait of William A. Huntley
William A. Huntly, from his 1883 sheet music, Little one whisper you love me
Background information
Also known as
  • William A. Huntley
  • Billy Huntley
Born(1843-11-02)November 2, 1843[1]
Providence, Rhode Island, US
DiedMarch 26, 1929(1929-03-26) (aged 85)[2]
Providence, Rhode Island, US
Genresparlor music, classic-banjo instrumentals
Occupation(s)performer music teacher, composer
Instrument(s)5-string banjo, piano, vocalist
Years active1860–1893
Formerly of
  • 1860 Mead's Euterpean Minstrels[3]
  • c. Oct 1870 – Jan. 1871 Campbell and Huntley's Minstrels[1]
  • 1871 solo performances for two weeks[4]
  • 1871 Lauri English Pantomime Troupe
  • 1871–1874 Martinetti French Ravel Pantomime Company[1]
  • 1873 Rogers and McKee Minstrels[1]
  • 1874 Huntley's Minstrels[1]
  • 1874–1880 solo performances variety theaters[4]
  • 1880 J. H. Haverly's Mastodon Minstrels[3]
  • 1881–1884 Whitmore and Clark's Minstrels[3]
  • c. 1884–1887 John H. Lee
  • 1884–1893 independent performances, teaching

William A. Penno (1843–1929), known by his stage name William A. Huntley, was a composer, music teacher, and vocal and instrumental performer in minstrel and vaudeville traditions. Playing his 5-string banjo before crowds that came to number in the low thousands, he sang in a high tenor and played his banjo bare fingered, picking the strings in a style today named "classic banjo." His published compositions include banjo instrumentals and parlor music. Huntley spent his working life performing and teaching in the off season. He performed throughout the United States and toured Europe as a part of several different minstrel groups.[3] A highlight of his performing career was to play before the Prince and Princess of Wales, about 1880 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.[3] He moved away from minstrel shows by the 1880s, and "took pride" that he could perform without blackface stage makeup.[3] He focused on building respectability for the banjo, through teaching, composition, and performance recitals.[3] He was featured in the S. S. Stewart Company's catalog (showing that art-banjo promoter Stewart recognized his talent) and began to play the company's banjeaurine.[3] In 1888 he performed before a crowd of 2,000 people in his hometown, Providence, Rhode Island.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d e Rice, Edward Le Roy (1911). Monarchs of minstrelsy, from "Daddy" Rice to Date. New York City: Kenny Publishing Company. p. 160.
  2. ^ "Person details". rihistoriccemeteries.org. Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission. Last Name: HUNTLEY First Name: WILLIAM A born: WILLIAM A PENNO HE IS A COMPOSER Cemetery Name: LOCUST GROVE CEMETERY Birth Year: 1843 Death Day: 26 Death Month: MAR Death Year: 1929
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Schreyer, Lowell H. (2007). The Banjo Entertainers: Roots to Ragtime, A Banjo History. Mankato, Minnesota: Minnesota Heritage Publishing. pp. 152–154, 229–230. ISBN 978-0-9713168-9-8.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Stewart was invoked but never defined (see the help page).