The Band Played On

Lest you think our blog has become all about the movie, here are some fun facts about Titanic's musicians to liven up your Friday.

• White Star Line musicians were expected to have complete memorization of over 500 pieces of music.  The musicians remembered each song by its corresponding number, so that the bandleader could simply say the number, rather than the title of the song, when he wanted to play a particular piece.
• The musicians traveled in 2nd class accommodations. 
• John Wesley Woodward, the cellist on Titanic, is suspected to have had a fling with a fellow second class passenger.  Apparently he visited her cabin fairly frequently to give "private concerts."
• The band leader--Wallace Hartley--led the band on the Mauritania before moving to the Titanic.
• Titanic actually had two separate bands--a quintet led by Hartley, and a trio which played in the Cafe Parisien onboard the ship.
• The band really did play until the bitter end.  They stopped briefly, but when Hartley continued to play solo, the rest of the band rejoined him until the ship sank.  The night of the sinking was likely the first time that both sets of musicians performed together.
• The Titanic Musicians Memorial was erected in Southampton, England in 1913.  After being destroyed by a bombing during WWII, a replica was unveiled by four Titanic survivors in 1990.

How’s that for a bit of musical education?