Caples, Billy (William T.), 1928-1986
Dates
- Existence: 1928 - 1986-07-09
Biographical note
William T. "Billy" Caples was a musician and teacher of Irish music, who played with several Boston-area bands, such as Johnny Powell's Orchestra, as well as his own, the Billy Caples Orchestra. He was a cofounder of two Irish music societies in Boston, Ceol traidisiúnta na hÉireann and a branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, the Hanafin-Cooley branch (later renamed the Reynolds-Hanafin-Cooley branch). As a teacher, he instructed many players of traditional Irish accordion music in the Boston area. Caples studied at the Berklee College of Music, served with the US Army on Guam during World War II, and worked for 32 years at the Steele Canvas Basket Co. Inc. in Cambridge, MA. Caples died on July 9, 1986.
Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) Identifier
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
"Blackberry Blossoms", sheet music, handwritten by Billy Caples (photocopy), undated
Materials about Irish music, particularly uilleann pipes and Boston-area musicians, collected by Eugene Frain.
Collection is open for research.
Paul C. Haley collection of Billy Caples music manuscripts
Handwritten sheet music for accordion created by accordionist Billy Caples for one of his students, Paul C. Haley. Most tunes include titles, and some contain additional performance notes.
Collection is open for research.
Johnny Kelly's Dance Party, audio recording, 1958
Event at the Hibernian Hall, hosted by Tommy Shields, featuring performances by the Billy Caples Band and Connie Foley, and attended by an audience of approximately 900. Later broadcast by Shields on WBOS 1600 radio.
This recording is not available for playback due to format impermanence and has not been reformatted
Richard Toomey Irish music collection
Collection documents the life and career of Boston-area musician and artist Richard "Skip" Toomey through annotated musical manuscripts, drawings, and a watercolor.
Collection is open for research.