In 1911, a catchy tune took the U.S. and then the world by storm. It was “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”. Listen in to a few bars of the chorus:
Irving Berlin composed the song and wrote the lyrics. At the time, Berlin was a young Tin Pan Alley songwriter. Only a few years earlier, he had been struggling as a singing waiter in New York City’s Chinatown. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” was the musical sequel to an earlier Berlin composition titled “Alexander and His Clarinet”.
Despite its title, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” has the rhythmic structure of a march. Nevertheless, its popularity led to a resurgence of interest in other, older ragtime music. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” kicked off a veritable ragtime dance craze.
To learn more, see the Frank McDonald papers at UW’s American Heritage Center