Background
Lampe was born in Ribe, Denmark to Christian and Sophia Lampe. In 1873, his family moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, where his father took over leadership of the Great Western Band.
Lampe was born in Ribe, Denmark to Christian and Sophia Lampe. In 1873, his family moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, where his father took over leadership of the Great Western Band.
Lampe was a child prodigy on the violin and became the first chair violinist for the Minneapolis Symphony at age 16. At this time, he began composing and publishing his own music and led a dance orchestra. In 1900, a year after the success of Joplin"s "Maple Leaf Rag", he published his most successful and enduring song "Creole Belles", a rag or cakewalk that sold more than a million copies in sheet music
The song was recorded by Sousa"s Band in 1902 and has been a staple of jazz bands and ragtime pianists into the 21st century.
He also collected, and may possibly have composed, Mysterioso Pizzicato, the piece of photoplay music whose main motif became a standard cue for stealth and villainy and has seen "hundreds of tongue-in-cheek uses" in features and cartoons.