The Rags Thread

[Rob C.]

Harrison, C. R. - Cotton Coon's [Swellest in Town] - 1903 [cover & 1st pg.].pdf

Bresnahan, J.P. (1910 Berlin, Ontario. Canada directory).pdf

Hi Frank,

Thanks SO MUCH for posting "Imp Rag"! I didn't realize that only the first strain is original (and, who knows, perhaps that strain's lifted from a rag we've never seen, or something that "Long' picked up by ear)! Still, I'd been looking for this for a long time, so, was thrilled to finally be able to see the score! According to the Catalogue of Copyright Entries it was copyrighted June 21, 1910 (with the required 2 copies deposited the day before) and was published by "Long music pub. co." Witchita, KS, so this was probably self-published.

I was also glad to read that you hadn't seen 2 of the pieces I posted, as I'd never seen MANY of the wonderful postings you've made--so it's an honor to be able to repay the favor.

I always love reading your postings! It's like opening up a book on ragtime history (one that I wish was published and available for purchase ). To your piracy history I'd like to add two compositions.

First, Frank Butler's "Tantalizer Rag" whose first strain is lifted from Joplin's "Cascades" and whose second strain is an outright steal (except for the ending) of the second strain of Joplin's MLR. The score is available here: http://www.ragtimepiano.ca/images/tantalizer.pdf and can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q4R4lgoj8s. The sound is computer generated, but I really like the piano sound of his program. I'll forewarn you, however, that except for the final bar, the reprise of the first strain is completely missing.

Second, I'll add another piece of ragtime piracy that a friend of mine in Holland found. It's called "Cotton Coons" by "C. R. Harrison" (also 1903). It was published, apparently on cheap newsprint, in Canada (and you'll notice that one of my postings today was copyrighted separately in Canada which leads me to wonder if we didn't have copyright reciprocity with them at the time). It's not only a complete note-for-note steal of "Swellest in Town" (1903) by Bessie Blanton Heckard (available here: http://digital.library.msstate.edu/cdm/ ... c/id/25426), The music actually looks like it was even printed from the same plates!! I'm posting the cover (which is completely different from SIT) and the first page of the score (I promised my friend I wouldn't send out the full scores of anything he sent me, which is the only reason I'm not posting all of it). The remaining 2 pages are identical to SIT (as noted earlier) and have ads written in the margins. If anyone's interested in these ads, I can type them up for you (for example the bottom of pg. 2 reads " 'The Pianauto' the only Perfect Piano Player." Oh, you'll notice a store stamp on the front cover from a J. P. Bresnahan who lives in "Berlin." That's not Berlin Germany, but Berlin, Ontario, Canada. I"m posting a listing for J. P. Bresnahan in a 1910 Canadian city directory.

I have more to post, including the piece mentioned above copyrighted separately in Canada, but I'm going to post these 2 items first. I'll be writing my next posting as some of you are downloading.

Best,

Rob

[Rob C.]

Kummer, Clare - Madame Pompon (1915-rag song)-rare edition.pdf

Kummer, Clare - Madame Pompon (1915-rag song).mid

Hi Everyone,

I don't know how many of you are interested in rare editions of pieces (I guess I'll find out by the number of downloads ). This song, published a century ago by Jerome H. Remick, is probably not rare. You can download the score here: http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cd ... 344/rec/10.

What I'm posting however, is probably quite rare. It's a copy of this song, with a completely different cover, published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio, USA) on Sunday, July 18, 1915 (the song was copyrighted by Remick on May 5, 1915). This is scanned from the original newsprint (I apologize that I was forced to scan the cover in 2 halves which I slid together--like most of you I don't have an oversized scanner bed). I"m also posting a midi--I sequenced all 3 verses as written in the score).

The composer, Clare Rodman [nee Beecher, in fact she's a relative of author Harriet Beecher Stowe] Kummer used the last name of her first husband, playwright, Frederick Arnold Kummer, as her professional name even after she divorced him and remarried. She was not only a successful songwriter, but a successful playwright who wrote many Broadway plays. Here are some links if you're interested:

http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Det ... are-Kummer

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474984/othe ... pdt_wrk_sm

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474984/

https://books.google.com/books?id=yEKvp ... er&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=qyk_A ... er&f=false

This is the piece copyrighted separately in Canada mentioned in my previous posting. I'm not done posting this evening, but have to attend to something else now so I'll pick this up later.

Best,

Rob

[Rob C.]

Rieman, Edward G. - Cyclone, The. Rag-Two Step (1908-self-published).pdf

Rieman, Edward G. - Cyclone, The - Rag-Two Step (1908-self-published).MID

Hi Everyone,

Next up is a self-published 1908 rag called "The Cyclone" and, like many self-published rags, it has some interesting ideas (my favorite strain is the final one). Oh, the midi is ten years old and that's before I so carefully proofread each sequence.

Enjoy!

Rob

[Rob C.]

Doss, J. T. - Fiddling George, Ragtime March Two Step -1905.pdf

Hi again Everyone,

My last posting for this thread today is of "Fiddling George." I'm sorry there's no midi for this one.

Enjoy!

Rob

[jellyroll]

Rob , Thank you for all you have shared

[Rob C.]

Thomas, George Washington - Rag Strain (in A Minor) transcription - 1924.pdf

Thomas, George Washington - Rag Strain (in A minor) - transcription - 1924 [72 tempo].mid

Thomas, George Washington - Rag Strain (in A minor) - transcription - 1924 [76 tempo].mid

Hi Everyone!

Today I'm posting a transcription of a rag strain preserved as an interlude on a piano song roll (courtesy of Frank Himpsl you can download a midi scan of the original roll, "Mammy's Little Brown Rose," on page 18 of the Piano Roll Transcriptions thread). This is by the same composer as my previous transcription (see page 30 of this thread). Unfortunately, only 1 strain of this rag survived, the others are probably lost. Since this strain was inserted as an interlude, the "end" is actually a bridge to a reprise of MLBR. I leave it to you, the performer, to create your own satisfying resolution.

A slightly slower tempo gives this strain, in my (and my wife's) opinion, a more haunting feel while a slightly quicker tempo adds an element of fun. To demonstrate the difference I'm attaching 2 midis set to play at slightly different tempos.

For more detail about this piece and the transcription see my posting of it on page 18 of Piano Roll Transcriptions thread.

Enjoy!

Rob

PS: Jellyroll, you are so very welcome! I recall that you've made some very nice postings yourself for which I'll always be appreciative!

[fhimpsl]

Here are a few rays of sunshine for those who enjoy ragtime. "Belles Of The Blue Grass" by M.M. Thorne is in my opinion the best "unknown" piece of genuine folk ragtime which has surfaced in piano roll format. It was issued on a roll manufactured by Wurlitzer for their coin-operated Automatic Harp. One of the first rolls issued for the machine (serial #11) it would date from probably ca. 1906-08. The piece might have been published in sheet music form prior to that date (the score exists, but I have not been able to secure a copy or confirm publication information). The midi file attached was scanned from the original 2:1 factory master roll which was loaned to me years ago by Bob Gilson. My late friend Trebor Tichenor, who knew and felt folk ragtime more instinctively than anyone I've ever known, regarded this as a masterpiece of the idiom.

Also attached are two rare rags by comparatively well-known (in name) ragtime composers, E.Clinton Keithley and J.Fred O'Connor. I always found these especially fun to play. Both sheet music and scanned nickelodeon rolls are attached. (A color copy of "Bumble Bee Rag" may be downloaded from Charley Templeton's collection at the University of Mississippi).

Lastly, an extremely obscure piece entitled "Nothing Doing - March and Two-Step" by Kittie W. Heck. I do not know of an existing music score for this piece, but it surfaced on a 5-tune, endless (loop format) nickelodeon roll produced for Berry-Wood instruments. This particular brand of endless coin-op rolls were sourced from QRS 65-note roll masters. A creative and catchy little piece of ragtime, by one of the obviously gifted Ragtime Ladies information about whom is probably lost to time. At least the label credited her first name (composer gender was so frequently obscured in ragtime by the use of first name initials).

Enjoy!

Frank H.

Belles Of The Blue Grass - Wurl Harp 11-1 (M.M. Thorne).mid

Keithley, E.Clinton - Bumble Bee Rag.pdf

Bumble Bee Rag - Peerless Cabaret 10008-16 (E. Clinton Keithley).mid

O'Connor, J.Fred - The Bully Rag.pdf

Bully Rag - WURL Pianino 262-6 (J. Fred O'Connor).mid

Nothing Doing - March & Two-Step (Kittie W. Heck) - QRS65N X3550 from BerryWood Endless 329-4.mid

[fhimpsl]

I've always regarded "unknown rags," i.e. rags which we know of through surviving piano rolls or phonograph records, but not by title, as something of a mixed blessing. Frequently these turn out to be some of the most memorable pieces, musically. But for those so inclined, they represent a challenge of identification. That can be an interesting path to follow, often with many frustrating turns.

In the realm of piano roll recordings, the unknowns survive through the loss of original labelling. This happened most often with nickelodeon rolls, which were never really intended to survive in the first place. Mechanical music machines were popular in public venues ranging from plush hotel lobbies, to barbershops and of course to all the colorful gin mills and sporting houses of the day. These multi-tune rolls were changed out by route operators employed through either the piano or roll companies, usually on a weekly basis. Out-of-date music wasn't usually kept around, with the demand being for the most current tunes. It's a miracle that any of this music survived, and only a small fraction of what was "out there" back in the day actually did. What did survive, well it just barely survived. Frequently the leaders with label information were torn off, sometimes with several of the songs as well. Sometimes it's possible to identify a manufacturer based on things like the spool, or the paper, or the occasional presence of a stamped serial number at the end of the roll. Cross-referencing to known material can help, but often we're left with "just" the music. Better than nothing, for sure.

There is a further difficulty in identifying unknown piano and nickelodeon roll rags. Many of these pieces were never copyrighted, nor published in sheet music form. They were apprently sold outright to to the roll companies on occasion in an attempt to popularize a tune. In other instances, the pieces were compositions by arrangers employed by the roll companies, who apparently were given some liberty to issue their own music in such a manner. One example is Paul Pratt, a ragtime luminary, who was employed by the US Music Roll Co. for several years. Several of his compositions were issued by US on rolls, but never found their way to published score notation. In short, without a label, the rags published only on roll format have a true crisis of identity!

With that introduction, here is a selection of a few unknown nickelodeon roll rags which I find particularly appealing. Despite years of trying, I have no idea as to the titles nor the composers. The music is there, and is what it is. Many similar pieces survive, but I believe these in particular are worth a listen. A medal of achievement would be due anyone who can unlock the mystery of these tunes.

Enjoy the music and explore the identities, but don't stress too much over those. Some may never be known to us. Ultimately the true value is in the music.

Frank H.

Unknown Rag (A Great One) - Cremona A-428-14.mid

Unknown Rag (Great!) - Cremona A-428-10.mid

Unknown Rag (Incorporates Buffalo Rag by Turpin) - Ramey A-Mod 1-5.mid

Unknown Rag March (Great) - Electrova 44N 429-1.mid

Unknown Rag (Minor Key) - NTW StyleL 2214-5.mid

Unknown Rag (Stop Rag - Indian Motif - Fantastic) - LINK-AMC 321-4.mid

[Jean-Séb]

Interesting post, thank you.

[Rob C.]

Belles of Blue Grass & Nothing Doing © info..pdf

Dear Frank,

Thanks for all your postings!! I can provide publication data for the 2 pieces in your first post (if I had the scores I'd happily post them for you!). "Belles of the Blue Grass" was published in 1902 by the large Cincinnati, Ohio, publisher, W. H. Willis & Co. Tom Brier has either an original or at least a photocopy. This is an absolutely fantastic rag and I'm so glad you posted the midi!

As for "Nothing Doing," a piece I must confess I've listened to WAY too many times since you posted it !!, it was written by Kittie West Heck and was published by Johnathan Albert Radebaugh in Columbus, Ohio, in 1903. Tom Brier also has this.

You'll be happy to know, Frank, that both of these pieces were copyrighted!! YES!! So, if any Pianophilia friends out there in cyberspace have access to the LOC, perhaps they could post copies for us. That would be great! Because both these pieces are pre-1906, their copyright data was recorded in the Catalog of Title Entries of Books, which had a Musical Compositions section (later that became a separate catalog). I'm posting the entries for you. Radebaugh copyrighted 3 pieces in this quarterly issue and 'Nothing Doing" is the last.

Kittie West Heck also composed a "Ewer March-Two Step" which was copyrighted in 1904. This might be a rag (but may not be either). I can post the info. on that too, if anyone's interested.

I have more to say about your wonderful postings, but I'll stop here for today...

Best,

Rob