author
Will Rossiter
1867–1954
Remembered as a prolific music publisher, songwriter, and humor writer, this English-born American helped shape popular entertainment in Chicago during the ragtime and early Tin Pan Alley years. His name appears on songs, joke books, and light verse that capture the style and energy of turn-of-the-century popular culture.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Wells, Somerset, on March 15, 1867, he later built his career in the United States and became closely associated with Chicago's music world. Sources consulted during this search describe him as an English-American music publisher and composer, and note that he began publishing in Chicago in 1890.
Beyond publishing, he wrote lyrics, composed songs, and produced comic and novelty material. His work is still remembered through sheet music archives, music databases, and public-domain recordings and texts, which show how active he was across popular song and entertainment publishing in the early 20th century.
He died on June 10, 1954. A suitable verified portrait image could not be confirmed from the sources reviewed here, so no profile image is included.