Roy J. Carew

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Roy J. Carew was a leading authority on ragtime, blues and New Orleans jazz, and had an extensive collection of Scott Joplin music and memorabilia. Carew moved from New Orleans to DC in 1919, taking a job as an auditor with the Internal Revenue Service. He published numerous articles on music, the culture of New Orleans, and the jazz history of DC in such publications as The Record Changer and Jazz Journal.

Carew was an accomplished amateur pianist. He composed eight ragtime songs, but only one, “The Full Moon” (1909) was published in his lifetime. He befriended Jelly Roll Morton in DC in 1938 and convinced him to record for Willy Lomax at the Library of Congress. Those recordings, over eight hours’ worth, would later win two Grammy Awards. Carew also co-wrote some song lyrics with Morton and formed the Tempo Music Publishing Company to protect Morton’s copyrights.