A&T Professor Publishes Book

GREENSBORO - Dr. Clifford Watkins, a professor of music at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has written the biography of Perry George Lowery, a groundbreaking African American cornetist who helped shape the sound of modern music.

Watkins' book, " Showman - The Life and Music of Perry George Lowery," tells the story of how the cornet player - a quiet maverick, became the standard that shook American music.

Lowery was born in Kansas to hardscrabble black settlers, who provided him an atmosphere in which he could evolve his musical talent. He traveled the country in minstrel shows and circus bands and performed on the vaudeville stage. From 1895 through 1942, Lowery was not only known as a musician but also as an author, columnist, teacher, showman and

entrepreneur. He was given the title "World's Greatest Colored Cornet Soloist," by H.C. Brown of the Boston Conservatory.
At the height of the golden age of circuses, Lowery landed a job in the Ringlings Brothers Sideshow Band. His work with the Ringling Brothers changed the music scene, which at the time closed the doors on African American travel and opportunity. By 1910, as a result of his performances, the country had 14 circus acts that employed African American bands.

Watkins' biography is the only book length study of Lowery. His work has been published in the Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and Feel the Spirit: Studies in Nineteenth-Century Afro-American Music.

Watkins received his B.A. from Clark Atlanta University and his M.M. and Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.