Irene Cozad (July 4, 1888 – August 2, 1970), later known as Irene Cozad-Sherer, was an American pianist, piano teacher, and composer of ragtime music.
Irene Cozad | |
|---|---|
 Irene Cozad Sherer, from sheet music published in 1920. | |
| Born | Irene Bazelle Cozad July 4, 1888 Lineville, Iowa |
| Died | August 2, 1970 Kansas City, Missouri |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Irene Cozad-Sherer, I. C. Sherer |
| Occupation | composer |
Early life
Irene Bazelle Cozad was born in Lineville, Iowa, one of the nine children of Joseph Addison Cozad and Olive Jane Vanderbeck Cozad. Her father was a school teacher and worked at a newspaper.[1]
Career
Cozad played and taught piano in Kansas City, Missouri.[1] Compositions by Cozad included "Affinity Rag" (1910), "Eatin' Time Rag" (1913), "That Sunday Wedding Day" (1914, words by Gwen Meredith),[2] "The Minute Circle Whirl" (1916),[3] "Because", and "Kansas City Town" (1920).[4] The last, "Kansas City Town", was written for a contest marking the year that the city's population reached one million.[5] Her compositions are considered an example of the Kansas City Folk Rag genre.[6][7]
Personal life
Irene Cozad married Joseph Whitman Sherer, a medical doctor, in 1912. They had a daughter, Jeanne, and a son, Joseph Jr.[8] Her husband died in a car accident in 1940; she died in Kansas City in 1970, aged 82 years.[9]
Her compositions are sometimes featured in recordings and performances of ragtime works by women, including the collections Pickles and Peppers (1987) and Fluffy Ruffle Girls: Women in Ragtime (1999), both by Virginia Eskin.[10][11]