by Shannon Butler
Located here in the Local History archives we have some of the music composed by local musician Charles Gilbert Spross. He was famous both for his music and for accompanying some of the great singers of the early 20th century. Spross traveled the world and played to thousands of people but he would always find his way back home to his beloved Poughkeepsie. Today, we are going to look at the life and career of a local musician who managed to gain fame but still stayed grounded in his roots.
He was born to German immigrants Michael and Alouisa Spross on January 6th 1874 in the family’s home at 51 South Bridge Street right here in Poughkeepsie. As a child, he no doubt enjoyed listening to his father sing, as he was a member of the Germania Singing Society. Little Spross took after his father and began singing in the choir of the Church of the Nativity as a boy. He began his training in piano and organ with Adolf Kuehn and Helen J. Andrus (who is also the author of ‘A Century of Music in Poughkeepsie’). Later Spross would serve as the accompanist for the Germania Singing Society while his teacher conducted and his father sang.
By the time he was barely 20 years old he began playing organ and directing choirs at various churches including St. Pauls Church here in Poughkeepsie and later the Rutgers Presbyterian church in New York City. His abilities as an accompanist earned him a reputation in the musical field and he was soon desired by all of the great singers of the day. He even played with the famous Enrico Caruso in front of 10,000 fans in Toronto. It was his touring with singer Alma Gluck that made his own compositions famous. She sang his song “Will O’ the Wisp” all over the country and it became an instant hit. His compositions for both secular and sacred music earned him fame and his sheet music sold out. He was even asked to perform at the White House by Presidents Taft, Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge. He received a Doctor of Music degree in 1936 from Capital University in Columbus Ohio while continuing to perform and write.
After all of the traveling and performing (like a rock star of the vaudevillian era) in his later years he found his way back to his old stomping grounds and served as the organist and choir director of the First Congregational Church here in his home town until he retired in 1956. He died in his home at #4 Allen Place on December 23rd 1961 and is buried in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. Stop by the Adriance Memorial Library to see an exhibit (in the cases near the Reference desk) of pieces from Spross’s life from our collections. Make sure to check out this link to hear his popular hit “Will O’ the Wisp” sung by Alma Gluck
