Rags and Ragtime

by David A. Jasen, Trebor Jay Tichenor

This definitive history of ragtime music and its composers traces the genre's growth and diversification from its 19th-century origins through its heyday and modern revival. It discusses 48 major composers and 800 rags, including original publishers and dates of publication, discographies, and commentaries. More than 100 photos illuminate the text.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

310 pages, Hardcover

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.