History of American Music

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CAKEWALK AND RAGTIME?

Reproduced from the book "Best Musicians, Singers, Albums and Entertainment Personalities of the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries", Volume V of World Who's Who in Jazz, Cabaret, Music and Entertainment. Pages: 2445-46-47 Published by the Federation of American Musicians, Singers and Performing Artists (FAMSPA). Pages 2349-2353

Historical Background:

Photo: Sheet music of “The Cake-Walk InThe Sky”, a very popular song of the era.

The Cakewalk, a predecessor of the rag, is best known from 1870 to the early 20^th century, but it took its roots from the time of slavery. White slave owners used to hold dance competitions for the slaves, and watching those events was a favorite past-time. The winners were awarded a cake, giving rise to the expressions “takes the cake” and “a piece of cake.” The dances, which were parodies of the European ballroom dances, involved a combination of African dance steps, high kicks, and exaggerated steps. One quite popular form was danced by a few couples, with their arms linked, lined up in a circle. They would dance forward, with alternate high kicks and short hops. Some say it originated from the “chalk-line walk” which was a rather simple dance performed by couples advancing on a straight line, balancing water buckets on the heads. The participants always wore flamboyant clothes and accessories, meant to amuse the spectators. As the music developed over the decades, it was often performed by a band or even a small orchestra, but it was always intended for dancing. The cakewalk in its original form was slightly syncopated, and even later was never as sophisticated as true ragtime music.

ERNEST HOGAN

Ragtime was played many years before it was first published in the late 1890s, but the first time the term appears is on the sheet music from 1896 for Ernest Hogan’s song “All Coons Look Alike to Me,” still spelled as two words. The form of one word started to appear around 1898. No one knows the exact origin of the word, but an anecdotal story tells that Scott Joplin, the greatest ragtime composer (1868-1917) once told a reporter that it was named so “because it had such a ragged movement.” It is an established fact that the pianists at the Chicago World’s Fair, in 1893, played this type of music. Ragtime is characterized by elaborately syncopated rhythm in the melody and a steadily accented accompaniment.

Photo: Ernest Hogan. Ernest Hogan was the composer of the song “All Coons Look Alike to Me.” When published in 1986, it was the first to have the word “rag” on the sheet music.

The accented left-hand beat is opposed in the right hand by a fast, bouncing melody that gave the music its powerful forward impetus. Ragtime compositions typically featured three or four discrete 16-bar strains performed at a moderate tempo. The rhythm and structure of ragtime were important influences on the development of jazz. Ernest Hogan’s “All Coons Look Alike to Me” has an appendix that starts with the words “Choice Chorus, with Negro Rag; accompaniment, and arrangement by Max Hoffmann.”

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The offensive title is somewhat misleading. In the song, the insulting words are said not by a white man who is looking down on blacks, but by a black woman who is explaining her attraction to a new boyfriend who had supplanted all other men in her heart, and she has no eyes for anyone else. The song sold extremely well not only as sheet music but as wax cylinders, but they were not reissued because of the racist implications. Nevertheless, the song was so popular that it was adopted by white singers as well as black ones.

Lyrics of the song: All Coons look alike to me

[Verse]

Talk about a coon a having trouble
I think I have enough of ma own
It's all about ma Lucy Janey Stubbles
And she has caused my heart to mourn
Thar's another coon barber from Virginia
In soci'ty he's the leader of the day
And now ma honey gal is gwine to quit me
Yes, she's gone and drove this coon [i.e., me] away
She's no excuse
To turn me loose
I've been abused
I'm all confused
'Cause these words she did say:

[CHORUS]

All coons look alike to me
I've got another beau, you see,
And he's just as good to me as you, nig! ever tried to be
He spends his money free,
I know we can't agree
So I don't like you no how
All coons look alike to me

Ernest Hogan further developed the popularity of this type of music by creating the “Memphis Students”, an all black orchestra, in 1905. This orchestra was a novelty to white audiences, who greatly enjoyed the wild sight of the dancing conductor, the athletic jumping and hopping of the drummers, and the unusual choice of instruments, which included saxophones, guitars, banjos, and mandolins – instruments that were not employed in traditional orchestras. This was a most effective way to bring the syncopated music and the African-American artists into the limelight, and indeed, many songs written by African Americans sold extremely well: That's Why They Call me Shine (1910), by Ford Dabney, who also led an orchestra, Castle Walk (1914), by Vernon and Irene Castle), Walkin' The Dog (1916) and Darktown Strutters Ball (1917), by Shelton Brooks, After You've Gone (1918), Strut Miss Lizzie (1921) and Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (1922), by John Turner Layton, among others.

Photos from L to R: 1-Bob Cole and J. Rosamond Johnson. Cole was born in Athens, Georgia, on July 1, 1868. His earliest published songs were issued in 1893, and one of his earliest stage jobs was with Sam T. Jack's Creole Show, the first African-American show to break from the strict minstrel tradition of all male performers. Cole also performed as an actor and directed the All Star Stock Company at Worth's Museum in New York, the first such company organized by African-Americans. 2-Tom Turpin, publisher of “Harlem Rag”, a big hit of the era.

RAG TIME: AN IMPORTANT PART OF AMERICAN CULTURE

Ragtime’s highest popularity coincides with the career of its greatest, Scott Joplin. However, other than the “Maple Leaf Rag,” ragtime went into obscurity, until its revival in the 1940, brought about by jazz enthusiasts who were researching the roots of jazz, brought it back into the light. In addition, the 1973 film, The Sting, used ragtime as the soundtrack. However, there were many other contributors. “Mississippi Rag,” written by the white composer William H. Krell was published in 1897, and is considered by some to be the first published rag, but in truth it is a march. At the same year, an African-American composer, Tom Turpin, published “Harlem Rag,” which enjoyed a great success. Interestingly, the most popular rag of the early twentieth century was also written by a white composer, Euday, L. Bowman, called “12^th Street Rag” and published in 1914. It was recorded by several artists, including Louis Armstrong in 1914 and Pee Wee Hunt in 1948. Ragtime is still played, and recorded regularly, but it is basically limited to a small audience. Modern composers of rag include William Albright, Donald Ashwander, William Bolcom, Frank French, Hal Isbitz, Max Morath, and David Thomas Roberts. Noted performers of reissues of the classics are Mimi Blais, Matthew Davidson, Scott Kirby, Morten Gunnar Larsen, Trebor and Virginia Tichenor, and Richard Zimmerman. The “coon songs,” are now distasteful to all of us due to their stereotypes and racial tones, but they cannot be ignored since they represented an important genre a century ago. One must remember that comic songs exist about every ethnic group, and keep the historical perspective. These songs sold very well, both as illustrated sheet music and records, by such large companies as Victor, Edison, and Columbia. Actually, some songs, even though not strictly “coon songs” were advertised as such, since it increased sales. For example, when Billy Murray sang various comic songs for the Edison’s National Phonograph Company, they promoted Irish songs like “Bedelia” and “Mary Ellen” as “Irish coon serenades!” Interestingly, many people associated the coon songs with ragtime, even though the coon songs predated rag. Some of the most important songs were: "Whistling Coon" "You'll Have To Choose Another Baby Now” "My Coal Black Lady” "The Wench With The Rag Time Walk" "You've Been A Good Ole Wagon, But You're Done Broke Down" "I Love My Little Honey" (#7311), is characterized as a "rag time melody." "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" "Under the Bamboo Tree" and "Good Bye, My Lady Love.” Many of the songs included the words “ragtime” in the titles.

In 1900, ragtime meant “coon songs”, not piano music; songs with comic words describing the lives and milieux of blacks and cakewalks. In 1910, ragtime meant vivacious orchestral dance music popular with young audiences. And quite often, composers and sheet music publishers would add the word “rag” to the songs to increase sales. The word “rag” was very fashionable. Starting with 1919, the word “blues” became en vogue and replaced the word “rag”. Today, music historians have the tendency to describe ragtime music as a musical piece played by a solo pianist, and refer to Scott Joplin as the pioneer of the genre. Ironically, Scott Joplin’s music was never recorded during his heyday, but he did cut minimal pianos rolls. The music industry, as well as the general public, preferred banjos and brass bands. Probably, this explains the popularity of bandleader Sousa and legendary banjoist Vess L. Ossman. Many white musicians tried to record ragtime music. In fact, the first and earliest ragtime recording was done by a white pianist by the name of C. H. Booth on November 1, 1901. And the first recorded ragtime song was “Creole Belles” written by J. Bodewalt Lempe. Around 1900-1901, march music and ragtime music were in demand. So, to increase the sales of the recently cut “Creole Belles”, the publishers promoted the song as “RAG-TIME MARCH.”The best ragtime piece of the era was “Maple Leaf Rag” written by Scott Joplin in 1899. Although it was recorded 8 times during his life time, no recordings of "Maple Leaf Rag" sold well. Joplin died in 1917. The most popular songs of the era were: "Harlem Rag" by Tom Turpin (1873 - 1922), "Mississippi Rag" (1897), by William H. Krell, "Dusty Rag" (1908) by May Aufderheide (1888 – 1972), "Frog Legs Rag" by James Slyvester Scott (1885 - 1938),"Wall Street Rag” and “Gladiolus Rag " by Scott Joplin, so on…

CAKEWALKS IN THE RAGTIME ERA

FIRST PUBLICATION: The first composition to be published with the word “cakewalk” in the title was “Opelika Cakewalk” in 1892, but it was “Rastus on Parade” that had really started the cakewalk craze in 1895. It also established the structure – the piece had to start in a minor key and end in a major key. Since both ragtime and cakewalk are syncopated, and emerged roughly the same time, considerable confusion exists in labeling them. In addition, greedy publishers, wishing to make a profit, sometimes mislabeled the pieces deliberately, depending which of the two forms was more saleable at the time. “Mississippi Rag,” for instance, which was published in 1897, is actually a cakewalk. To complicate things even further, sometimes the composers themselves were to blame. For example, Scott Joplin’s “Swipesy Cakewalk” is really a rag! Even at the time, controversy over cakewalks never quite stopped. The Cleveland Gazette, for example, printed an angry article in 1893, blaming the pastor for allowing the dance in his church, since it was a relic of slavery days. The craze spread to Canada, and such great songs were written there as “The Cake Winner,” by G.W. Adams.

Source: Library of Congress and Cleveland Gazette, Article: Cakewalk, Volume: 1 , Issue Number: 18 , Page2, Date: 12/09/1893.

Photo: A Galliker icecream truck of the era. Ice cream trucks in towns throughout America played a version of "The Entertainer" through loudspeakers to attract customers and children. That was the very first tune played by ice cream trucks in the United States. Pastors in white neighborhoods did NOT allow white children to buy icecream from trucks playing a “black tune”. So owners of ice cream factories instructed the driver to “stick his head” out of the window, so everbody would see he was “white”. This how, why and when the expression “stick out your head” or “stick out your neck” entered the American vocabulary. It entered from the window of an icecream truck.

RAGTIME WOMEN COMPOSERS

The Work of Early Female Songwriters: Sometimes, it was extremely difficult to know whether the musical work was done by a man or a woman, because female composers and singers –in many instances- were NOT allowed to use their full names. Only their initials were printed on the music sheet!! Ironically, this prejudice and bias against women reminds me of the early days of Greek theater, when women were not allowed to appear or perform on stage. So male performers had to disguise themselves as women. C’est la vie! But fortunately “la vie” has changed. Today, the most successful recording artists are women, and their names shine wide and bright in light!

CAKEWALKS IN THE RAGTIME ERA

Photo: Sheet music for The Tanguay Tangle. Lyrics by Merrill, Blanche. Music by Leo Edwards. Singer: Eva Tanguay. Publisher: Charles K. Harris, 1912. New York

Famous Female Composers: The greatest ragtime composers of the era were: Scott Joplin, Joseph F. Lamb and James Scott. However, one woman in particular, May Irwin did rival the quality of those three giants. Despite the fact that ragtime music rotated around a "male world" fueled by solo male pianists, and men gambling in smoke-filled saloons, women were avid consumers of ragtime sheet music. And some became famous composers of the genre, to name a few

Abbie Ford, Adaline Shepherd, Alma M. Sanders, Anita Comfort, Anita Owen, Bess E. Rudisill, Blanche M. Tice, Carlotta Williamson, Charlotte Blake, Fleta Jan Brown, Florence McPherran, Grace LeBoy, Hattie Starr, Henrietta B. Blanke (Belcher), Irene Cozad, Irene Giblin, Julia L. Niebergall, Libbie Erickson, Louise Gustin, Luella Lockwood Moore, Mabel McKinley, Mamie E. Williams, Marie Louka, Maude Nugent, May Aufderheide, Muriel Pollock, Nellie M. Stokes, Nellie Weldon Cocroft, Pauline B. Story, Sadie Koninsky, Verdi Karns.

LEADING CONTEMPORARY RAGTIME FEMALE MUSICIANS AND FIGURES

Photos from L to R: 1-Mimi Blais. 2-Nan Bostick. 3-Sue Keller.5-Virginia Tichenor. 5-Nora Hulse.

The tradition continues today. Leading contemporary ragtime female musicians are: The magnificent Mimi Blais from Montreal, Quebec who recorded the rags of Jean-Baptiste LaFrenière (1874-1912); Nan Bostick who recorded a ragtime CD with her partner, Tom Brier; Nora Hulse, a world-class musician who recorded several ragtime CDs; the fabulous Sue Keller from Oak Forest, Illinois, who recorded works by Joseph F. Lamb. Keller’s. Her appearances have ranged from the grand opening of Fanueil Hall Marketplace in Boston Harbor, the Mikado nightclub in Tokyo, the Neubiberg Jazz Fest in Munich, across the continent of Australia, and even to the Great Wall of China; Virginia Tichenor who recorded “Virginia’Favorites”.

THE GOLDEN YEARS OF LIVE ENTERTAINMENT ON RADIO. THE EARLY SOLO VOCALISTS

"He's a great singer, but ya know, you can't make it without a band. Every singer has got to have a band behind him." - Bandleader Tommy Dorsey, February 1942.

It really all started with Frank Sinatra.

Photo: Young Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey in 1942.

In January 1942, the 26 year old Frank Sinatra took the world of entertainment by storm. Thousands of young girls fell in love with him, and hundreds fainted every time he performed on stage. Female bobby-soxers screamed and screamed and rushed to touch his face amid hysteria and bursting passion. For long time, he has been performing as a solo singer with the Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, but now Sinatra realized that his ready for a solo career, alone and on his own, even if his boss Tommy Dorsey believed Sinatra was "a damn fool" for considering it. Dorsey was convinced that Sinatra will never make it without his band. He was wrong! The idea that a band vocalist would go out on his or her own, without the promotional support of a popular orchestra, was absurd and unrealistic in the 1940s. Many singers of the era preferred to stick to their bands for financial security purposes. Sinatra was different. He had the support and loyalty of thousands and thousands of teenagers and young adults. At that time in history, radio sponsors began to recognize the vast economic buying power of young audiences and teenagers. But one question haunted their minds: How much money those teenagers could spend or how much goods and merchandise would they buy? Sinatra was not concerned at all, because he was the first and ultimate superstar of the postwar years. Sinatra's decision ushered in, a new daring trend in showbiz. And he did it at a time when the popularity of big bands began to decline for many reasons. The United States was in war. Consequently, wartime restrictions on steel, rubber, tires and fuel made it so difficult for big band to tour regularly and appear on radio programs across the country. Besides, big bands could no longer record their music as often as they wished, because shellac and other products used in manufacturing the 78RPM records were in short supply. Indeed, this short supply in materials decreased the production and sales of records. But this would not affect the career of a solo vocalist touring the country without a big band.

Photo: James Petrillo, the powerful president of the AFM.

Add to the fact, that between 1941 and 1945, many big bands members were drafted. And to make things worst, in August 1942, a recording ban was imposed by the American Federation of Musicians, generated by a bitter dispute concerning copyrights, royalties and compensations for musicians works and their recordings. The ban lasted until 1943 and the case would not be resolved until 1944. Many non-union singers benefited from this crisis, because they were not forbidden to record their own songs. Of course, solo singers had to pay for recording their songs, studio time, and above all, they had to find professional musicians. But this was a minor concern, because they found out that they could record their songs with salaried studio musicians. And instead of using big bands and/or a large number of professional musicians, daring solo vocalists used small but effective choral accompaniment, and in many instances, they substituted with their own vocals dubbed over several tracks recorded in Mexico City. Not to forget the fact that record companies were fully aware that working with solo star singers was much much cheaper than working with a large band and a pompous famous bandleader. So record companies decided to replace big bands with studio musicians and small combos to accompany solo vocalists.

Record producers also realized that it is far cheaper to work with a small band composed from studio musicians, because they did not have to pay lots of money for an arranger to write orchestration and arrangements for a large number of musicians and musical instruments, as it was the case with big bands. Sinatra welcomed the idea. This allowed him to choose his own arrangers. Sharp and shrewd, Sinatra was able to convince the legendary Axel Stordahl, the musical arranger of Dorsey to quit Dorsey’s band and work for him. Sinatra opened the door for many non-union arrangers, and work was abundant. Later on, many stars of the era will imitate Sinatra and hire their own arrangers.

Early Stars Of The Music Business: By the end of the war, singers like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Helen Forrest, Dick Haymes, Jo Stafford, Andy Russell, were the superstars of the music business.

Photos from L to R: 1-Dick Haymes was born on September 13, 1916 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He died from lung cancer on March 28, 1980 in Los Angeles, California. He renounced his United States citizenship in 1944 and registered himself as resident alien. He starred in “Won Ton Ton”, “The Dog Who Saved Hollywood” (26-May-1976), “One Touch of Venus” (Aug-1948), “The Shocking Miss Pilgrim” (4-Jan-1947), “State Fair” (29-Aug-1945), “Irish Eyes Are Smiling” (19-Oct-1944). 2-Jo Stafford was born on November 12, 1917 in Coalinga, California. In the early 1990s, Stafford won a huge breach-of-contract lawsuit against her former record label, which won her rights to all of her old recordings. Soon after, Stafford reactivated her Corinthian Record label. In 1966, she retired from the music business. But briefly, in 1977, she did the Jonathan and Darlene Edwards version of “Stayin' Alive.” In 1990, Stafford sang at a ceremony honoring Frank Sinatra. Unquestionably, Stafford was one of the most popular singers of the post-war period. 3-Helen Forrest was born on April 12, 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She died on Jul 11, 1999 in Los Angeles, California. Forrest was one of the more popular big band era singers. In her early career, she used many names, such as Bonnie Blue and The Blue Lady.

Photos from L to R: 1-Benny Goodman and members of his band in 1938. 2-By the 1950s, Nat King Cole became on of the 10 top recording artists in America. 3-At 26, Frank Sinatra became the greatest and most popular vocalist of the era.

In 1939, Shaw orchestra was disbanded, so Forrest joined Benny Goodman and sang with his band until 1941. It should be noted that in 1940, she recorded with Lionel Hampton and Nat King Cole's trio. In the early ‘60s, Forrest sang with Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra led by Sam Donahue. In 1994, arthritis forced her to retire. In 1999, Helen Forrest passed away from heart failure. 4-Perry Como was born on May 18, 1912 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He died on May 12, 2001 in Jupiter, Florida. He was one of the most popular singers between the end of World War II and the rise of rock & roll in the mid-'50s. Before reaching stardom, Como worked as a singing barber in his hometown and toured with local bandleader Freddie Carlone. He got his big break in 1933 when he joined Ted Weems & His Orchestra. After the orchestra went out of business in 1942, Como hosted the “Supper Club”, a successful CBS radio show, and this opened the door for him to sign a contract with RCA Victor Records in 1943. The 1945 film “A Song to Remember” put Como on the map. It was his big break. His biggest hit was "Till the End of Time". This song stayed ten weeks at the very top of the charts and became the biggest hit of the season. His 1948 NBC radio show earned him four Emmy Awards.

Photos from L to R: 1-Andy Russell, Raul Reyes, Eva Reyes and The Copa Girls from the 1947 film “Copacabana”. 2-Andy Russell.

Photo: The legendary Carmen Miranda.

“Copacabana” was Groucho Marx's first film without his brothers. Carmen Miranda played her familiar bubbly Brazilian role and doubled as a French chanteuse. The film included the international hit “Tico, Tico” written by Sam Coslow. The cast consisted of Groucho Marx [Lionel Devereaux], Carmen Miranda [Carmen Novarro], Steve Cochran [Steve Hunt], Abel Green who played himself, Andy Russell who played himself, Gloria Jean [Anne], De Castro Sisters who played themselves, the fabulous dancers Raul Reyes and Eva Reyes, and The Copa Girls.

Photo: Carmen Miranda.

With the recording ban lifted, local radio stations geared toward disk jockey…it was the end of the big band era…

With the recording ban lifted, local radio stations geared toward disk jockey programs. By 1946, the golden era of the big bands came to an end and popular singers took over. The era of solo singers just began; “Fibber McGee and Molly” featured Martha Tilton for 15 months; the King's Men vocal group lasted for 11 years. Jack Benny began introducing an avalanche of solo singers and performers.

Photos from L to R: 1-Jack Benny with Dean Martin and Debbie Reynolds. 2-Jack Benny with Bing Crosby and George Burns.

Martha Tilton was born on November 14, 1915 in Corpus Christi, Texas. She died on December 8 2006 in Brentwood, California. She was one of the first artists to record for Capitol Records. In 1939, she had a hit with “And the Angels Sing” recorded with Benny Goodman. Among her biggest hits were “I'll Walk Alone”, a wartime song which got the 4^th spot on the 1944 charts, “A Stranger in Town”, and “I Should Care” both got the 10^th place on the 1945 chart; three other songs also topped the chart in 1947: “I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder”, “How Are Things in Glocca Morra”, and “That's My Desire.” In 1957, she recorded a very successful album “We Sing the Old Songs” with Curt Massey.

Photo: Martha Tilton.

Around 1959, both Tilton and Massey co-hosted a daily half-hour TV show in Los Angeles. The show lasted seven years. Tilton voice was used several times in many motion pictures, and dubbed over other actresses’ voices, to name a few: Anne Gwynne, Barbara Stanwyck, and Martha O'Driscoll.

Dinah Shore art her Armed Forces Radio Show.

Frances Rose Shore (Feb. 29, 1916-Feb.24, 1994) was first heard on Nashville's WSM. She caught the attention of disc jockey Martin Block who later, featured her on his popular show “Make Believe Ballroom” on WNEW New York. It was Block who made her change her name to Dinah Shore. In 1940, she became a solo singer on the NBC’s “Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street” program. In 1941, she began to appear every week on the Eddie Cantor's comedy show. Shore’s career bloomed during the war years with countless appearances on the Armed Forces Radio's live shows "Command Performance,” and in a great part because of her 1943 own half-hour show “Call for Music.” In the following years, Dinah Shore recorded several best-selling records and her spectacular success would ultimately last for 53 years. Dinah Shore died in Beverly Hills, California of ovarian cancer at age 78.

Dinah Shore residence in California.

AND HER FINAL RESTING PLACE…

Dinah Shore's grave. Dinah final resting place and residence at Hillside cemetery in Culver City, California. Located at the outside rear of the Maosoleum section Isiah…just a small drawer in a wall with a metal sign on it…C’est la vie!