by Frederick D. Fairchild

Charles Wilcoxon was best known as a teacher and for his numerous publications, which included snare drum method books and solos. He began playing in local movie house when he was eight years old, taught his first students when he was 12, and at 14 was touring with minstrel groups and movie orchestras. He finally settled at the Palace in Cleveland, Ohio where he played from 1922-33. Anecdotes abound concerning his teaching and the operation of his music store, the latter of which he started in the Great Depression of the 1930s. His most widely used works are The All American Drummer, Rudimental Swing Solos, Wrist and Finger Control and The Drummer on Parade.