Rags and Ragtime: A Musical History

by David A. Jasen, Trebor Jay Tichenor

"A work for all time . . . (with) a tremendous amount of historical information which has never been published. . . . It will be the standard text and reference work in the ragtime field." — Rag Times.
This well-known, highly praised book is the definitive history of ragtime music and its composers. Both authors are widely celebrated composers, performers, collectors, historians, and critics of ragtime music. With great enthusiasm and expertise, they trace the growth and diversification of ragtime from its earliest beginnings in the late nineteenth century through its heyday in the Folk, Classic, Popular, Novelty, and Stride Ragtime periods to its current revival.
Forty-eight major composers are discussed, including Scott Joplin, Zez Confrey, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, and many other greats. In addition, 800 important rags are profiled, most of them bearing the carefree titles that were part of the tradition, titles like "Canned Corn Rag," "Bantam Step," "Too Much Raspberry," "Ragging the Scale," and "Red Onion Rag." Each profile includes date of publication, original publisher, a discography, and a commentary of the unique character and appeal of each rag.
Over 100 photographs, many of them rare, illuminate this lively chronicle, along with reproductions of original sheet music and many other items of interest from the authors' personal archives.
"Jasen and Tichenor have no peers in ragtime knowledge. . . .They are the two unchallengeable authorities in the field of ragtime history, personalities, and musical forms." — The Classic Rag.
"A combination encyclopedia/biography/history/analysis and review, it teems with what would appear to be everything the ragtime buff or casual inquirer needs or wants to know about the music that won't stand still." — The Christian Science Monitor.
" Rags and Ragtime tells it all. There's a lot here I didn't know in pictures, music, and words." — Eubie Blake.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

David A. Jasen is considered to be the world's foremost authority on ragtime music. He has studied, recorded, and performer ragtime music for over five decades; his publications include complete scores for many major ragtime composers, and several books on the history of the music. Additionally, he has authored for Routledge a number of other well-received and strong selling reference works, including Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia and A Century of American Popular Song.

Reviews

[Matthew Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the time this was written, it was a significant contribution to books about ragtime. Unfortunately, the authors did not cite their sources most of the time. This is a serious problem, which distinguishes a book as either journalism or scholarship. The book would be greatly improved by acknowledging sources.

[Emilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fairly interesting book, I believe it would’ve been more interesting for someone that played or had done a lot of research on Ragtime music. It was definitely very researched and came from the research of two ragtime musicians so it wasn’t ideal for a layman, but I learned some interesting things. I enjoyed being able to listen to songs that they had mentioned by artist. The book was written in the 70s and it would’ve been interesting to hear how ragtime has affected music in the 80s and 90s revival up to the present day. It definitely opened it up for me to do more sleuthing.

[Joe Snodgrass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encylopedia of ragtime history. Good reference book. I found the historical summaries a bit tough going, rather than easy to follow story lines. But I didn't really have time to do it justice and hope to pick it up again when I have more time to read it when I am more alert.