Jazz and ragtime composer Jelly Roll Morton was born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe in New Orleans in 1890. He played piano in a brothel at age 14—and told his church-going grandmother he was working as a factory night watchman. When she discovered his secret, she kicked him out of the house and he began touring the South. By 1910, he was playing in Chicago and by 1915, he was in New York, publishing new and popular songs. He signed with Victor and began recording hit tunes in 1926, popularising his New Orleans-style piano playing, which laid the groundwork for the stride and barrelhouse styles.