Charles Hunter - 1899: This was Hunter's first published rag and one of the most popular pieces by the blind Tennessee composer, outlasting his tragically short life by eons. It became somewhat of a template for his later pieces like Possum and Taters and Just Ask Me, and a good example of folk ragtime as he heard it all around him growing up. While the rag itself is not all that simple to play, the catchy melodic line and harmonies make it a good candidate to stay in your head for long after you listen to, particularly the 32 bar trio. That in itself was not common during the time of cakewalks and early rags, but Hunter would use the elongated trio again in later pieces. Tickled to Death was a popular on early records of instrumental ensembles and on piano rolls, in addition to sustaining good sales for many years in sheet music format. It is still a staple of ragtime festivals in the 21st century, making for a fine duet as well.

Iola (Posting Soon)

Lyrics

Charles L. Johnson (M) and James O'Dea (L) - 1906: Charles Johnson was a friend of Charles Daniels (a.k.a. Neil Moret), and both being the primary Kansas City ragtime composers, it stands to reason they would be in tune with each others work and local trends. Even though it was four years after the orignal "Indian" intermezzo and song Hiawatha by Daniels appeared, Johnson's entry into the field was no less significant, if at one point the target of a minor controversy. Also, as with Hiawatha, it was named after the town of Iola, Kansas, itself likely an Indian name, had the train rhythm undercurrent, and lyrics added by their mutual friend James O'Dea. This was also good exposure for Johnson since the second and subsequent editions of the piece were published by Jerome H. Remick, which had considerable distribution. The controversy came in 1940 with the publication and recording of a big band piece called Playmates, much of which sounded very suspiciously like Iola. While some may have forgotten the piece, the composer did not, and with current copyright owner Jerry Vogel he did battle against the Santly-Joy company which owned Playmates. By 1944, Johnson and Vogel did receive a settlement. They probably did not want to be seen as "Indian givers" in this instance.

The Cat Came Back (Posting Soon)

Lyrics

Harry S. Miller - 1893: It's that same old story. No matter how hard you try that good-for-nothing mooching varmint who pays little mind to you unless he needs feeding simply won't disappear. He keeps coming back in spite of the evidence to the contrary that he should. That, of course, is the premise for this still-performed song that just barely predates the ragtime era. The versions we hear today at campfires or in recorded form (my favorite is by Garrison Keillor on his Cat CD) are quite different from the original, which was really an early "coon" song in thin disguise. The illustration on the cover is priceless, of course, if a bit frightening to small children. Even though all of the many original verses are included in the posted lyrics, there are hundreds more that have sprung up since then, since in 1893 there were no cars, semi trucks, gas chambers, chainsaws, sewage plants, assault rifles, nuclear devices, or other WMDs and PETA nightmares that would be an equal match to a crafty cat. Some minor alterations have been done to the melody here simply because the original was a poor fit to the lyrics. Also note that the original lyrics have ten verses, and that the cat finally dies after the first nine. Even though I have often suggestively sung this to my poor cats (as included on my It's Ragging Cats and Dogs CD so you can do the same), they somehow keep coming back anyhow just to torture me.

Harry P. Guy - 1901: Guy was one of the most celebrated of Detroit's early batch of ragtime composers. A native of Ohio, and for a short time in Texas, he ended up making the future motor city his home for the bulk of his life. Guy, along with fellow composer Fred S. Stone, was largely responsible for the considerable black musician's union formed in Detroit. He was equally adept at syncopated waltzes such as Echoes of the Snowball Club, and melodic songs and cakewalks. This unusual work conveys the notion that Americans had at that time about music of the Middle East and Asia, much of that coming from the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago on the midway. Even if it is not musically accurate, this tone poem clearly conveys his sense of melodic line and contrast, particularly in the trio. The repeated bass patterns were often interchangeable for a time between music of Asian lands and those of Native Americans, with the harmonies distinguishing between the two. This became a fairly popular intermezzo, and a favorite of noted banjo player Harry Van Epps. This performance his a little more variety infused into it than the score suggests, and hopefully comes across as a viable piece for a silent film track.

Adapted by Bill Edwards - 2006: While I was recording my album The Gospel from Within I sometimes just sat in the church with the recorder ready to go waiting for divine inspiration. It usually came, but not always how I expected. In fact, I'm not sure what the message was here. I wanted to present that great old Sunday School spiritual, Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, in a new manner. The more modern musical allegory that suddenly popped into my head was The Viper's Drag by Thomas "Fats" Waller, a tune associated with vipers or marijuana smokers. Not a match made in heaven, hmm? But a little bit of paraphrasing and square peg in round hole moments, and by the fourth take I had something. You'll hear parts of both tunes plus some original passages of my own in this MIDI replica of the piano/bass album version of the piece. Perhaps the wall of skepticism some of you may have about this odd combination will also come tumbling down.

Arrangement Copyright ©2006 by Bill Edwards and Siggnal Sounds.

Harry L. Cooke - 1907: Don't judge a rag by it's cover? In this case, a strange cover indicates a somewhat strange rag, but still worthy of attention. It is comprised of more than the usual three or four sections, totalling six actually. However, given that several are only 8 measure in length instead of the usual 16, the piece as about the same length as your standard issue piano rag. Little is known of the composer. As for the fish, however, it is officially called the spoonbill or paddlefish, largely found in Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa. The spoonbill is a remnant of prehistoric days on earth, and it has been postulated that the purpose of the long snout is more for navigation than efficient feeding. It should be also noted that on a scale of 1 to 10, the spoonbill rates a 0 since it has no scales. That explains the fish, but as for the frog band? I find them quite ribbeting, myself.

Scott Joplin - 1901: While Joplin, as a black composer, usually associated with other blacks in Sedalia, his new found celebrity with the local publication of Maple Leaf Rag and relationship with publisher John Stark elevated his status in open-minded Sedalia, Missouri to a point where he could also mingle with members of white society as well. Having already composed a piece for the recently shut down Maple Leaf Club, Joplin worked on this piece, likely intended to be titled Augustain Club Waltzes, for the white Augustain Club, formed in December of 1899, the same month as the other club's demise. It was not published for over another year, and the club's name was misspelled in the title, but it was still a milestone. Historian Ed Berlin in his book King of Jazz suggests that the piece was apparently commissioned by the club, and it was possibly performed by an orchestra at a club event in March of 1900. However, Joplin was evidently never asked to perform at the club. Nonetheless, Augustan Club Waltzes brought him as much respect in the entirety of Sedalia as Maple Leaf would eventually bring him throughout the country. After a very brief opening, the A section of this relatively short waltz clearly suggests the use of multiple melodic lines in different orchestral timbres. There is a hint of syncopation in the B section with a chord held over the bar of the eighth measure, but that's as close to the ideal of ragtime as the piece comes. As was typical for waltzes of the time, a relative minor section follows, with another chord held over the barline every four measures. The fourth section works with the idea of minimalism, sparsely stating a melody in octaves, each one held for a measure or more, with a lyrical effect, breaking free near the end of the section. This culminates in a fitting grand finale. Some of the ideas in Augustan Club Waltz would be expanded upon in his inspired Bethena just a few years later.

Gaston Lichtenstein - 1900: This charming little composition came to me directly from the piano bench of ragtime pianist Marty Mincer. It was in Marty's family for many years, and he titled one of his albums after it. The composer is hard to trace, but the publisher, George Jaberg Music Company, flourished in Cincinnati, Ohio around the turn of the century, doing vanity runs as well as a few distributed publications. Their 1900 catalog includes many waltzes, galops and ethnic two steps such as Edgecombe, but no mention of piano rags. The traditional cakewalk rhythmic pattern is closely adhered to with a lot of emphasis on the left hand bass patterns as well. The B section allows for adventurous improvisation, which is explored here. The trio is actually a very smooth contrast to the rest of the piece, even at eight measures for the theme, and is followed by the opening strain in the new key. This arrangement sticks quite a bit closer to the score than Marty's recording (which includes an additional theme of his own design), but there are some of his neater tricks thrown in here with mine for variety.