Todays music has gradually evolved from the 'classical' style of the mid-1880's and Steven Foster; to the Minstrel shows; to the musical plays; and to the 'Rags' of the late 1800s to 1900's. And, from thence, to Ragtime, Jazz, Swing, and to what composer Alec Wilder calls "American Popular Song".

Just before the turn of the century, there is a group of brilliant composers/performers, some in Sedalia, MO and in other areas, writing music that was called 'Rags'. The "Rag" form became associated with such men as: James Scott; Joseph Lamb; Louis Chauvin; Tom Turpin and, of course, Scott Joplin. The first "true" Rag was published in 1897, "Mississippi Rag", by William H. Krell, -a "White" man. In the same year, Tom Turpin was the first "Black" man to have his Rag published, "Harlem Rag". But, it was Scott Joplin's 'Maple Leaf Rag', and his other Rags, that defined an era lasting for 2 decades - up to 1917. The contribution of these composers was the realization that one could modulate the melody of a song to produce something quite different from what folks had been hearing. By placing pauses in out of the way places, the melody became, -Ragged, and so this music came to be known as "Rag". People got used to dancing to the music of just the piano, and maybe a rhythm section - sometimes of just drums.

"Ragtime" is a peculiar word. It seems to mean different things to different people. And, it has a history that stretches from about 1850 to 1940. Older musicians, -those who lived at the turn of the 20th century, have stated that the music they were playing was called ragtime even then.

However, I would like to point out that Rags are distinguished by a steady Duple rhythm played with the left hand, while it is the melody that is modulated. The Time is absolutely steady! It's the Melody that is 'raggedy'.

"Ragtime" is music that comes down from the history of the U.S.A. (Some historians have noted that the word 'rag' may possibly be derived from the old negro term 'ragging', their name for 'clog-dancing'.) It referred to the breaking up of the _melody_ of a song by syncopating it. One can see such irregular 'phrasing' in the lyric of Johnson and Coles' "Under the Bamboo Tree", - "If You Lak-a Me, Like I Lak-a You". Here, the extra "a's" are added to syncopate the melody. It is interesting to note that publisher, Neil Moret, was greatly responsible for promoting the popularity of the early 'Rags'.

It seems, to this writer, that it wasn't until the early 1920's that the Chicago musicians tried (rather unsuccessfully) to modulate the rhythm, or time. The '20's period is still called the "Ragtime" age.

During the 1890's - 1910's, 'Jazz' was being 'invented' in various cities of the United States of America. New Orleans, LA, is widely heralded as the birthplace of Jazz, but this may be more 'propaganda' than truth. It may simply be the concept of a romantic history that never was. Composer W. C. Handy was once asked if New Orleans was indeed the birthplace of Jazz, and he replied to the effect that wherever he had traveled, (paraphrasing Handy) - ".....Memphis, St. Louis, Detroit, - he had found bands and musicians that were at least as good as any he had heard in New Orleans". In fact, Jazz was evolving in a great many widely dispersed cities simultaniously. Handy said that it was just that "the 'boys' in New Orleans had awakened earlier than others to the fact that 'jazz' was also an economic opportunity." (Historian Gunther Schuller has remarked that "The Texas Blues Idiom is probably much older than the New Orleans Idiom that is generally thought to be the fountainhead of Jazz.") Nevertheless, there was some very happy music being purveyed by the Marching Bands of old New Orleans and Memphis. And, there were a great many 'Black' piano players working in the 'Sporting Houses'. Out of this milieu came men such as Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong, Tom Brown, Nick La Rocca, and others. The music was exciting and infectious. In time, it traveled up the Mississippi, -not so much by riverboat (although the boats all had bands playing) - but by Rail. The music would find a home in Kansas City, and in Chicago, after having first stopped off in St.Louis, MO. It flowered in the '20s.

In Kansas City, the musicians developed a musical style that is now known as the 'Kansas City Walking Bass'. In Chicago, two styles of 'Dixieland' Jazz developed. The original 'Dixieland' sound (of the South) was an easy going -ensemble- sound. It seemed to 'unwind' easily as you listened. 'Chicago-style Dixieland' is a true 'Dixieland', but with a hard driving sound, -so typical of the hard-driving Chicago metropolis, -and now with soloists taking part. It was the 'White' Chicagoans who re-invented 'Dixieland' -- the 'Dixieland' that is now played world-wide. Men with names like Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, Nick LaRocca, and so many others. (Please see the Jazz Overview, link for more interesting information.)

From the new 'RAG' melodies of Scott Joplin to the Ragtime of the 1920s was a short step. Musicians came to realize that if you could 'rag' the melody, you should also be able to 'rag' the 'time' or beat...And so, 'RAGTIME', was invented. And the 'Twenties' roared. (But, do note, that the term 'Ragtime' was a term that had been in use in the U.S.A. ever since ca. 1860)

Black and White Musicians referred to their 'ragged time' as music that had been "Jazzed Up". The term 'Jazz' had a certain sexual connotation. (A look at our Jazz Etymology, page may be of interest.) Black musicians had learned to use the word in regard to - say, Jazz-ing a female. And, from thence, they went to 'jazzing up' the music.

This 'original' 'Jazz' music was called "Dixieland". It reached its' peak in the Roaring '20s, and defined that era as - "The Jazz Age". This infectious, exciting music made the older Rag music sound corny. Folks no longer danced to just a piano and drums. Now they were dancing to songs such as the "Black Bottom", and "The Charleston" played by 'Jazz' Orchestras.

Two styles of orchestras were prevalent at this time. The Dixieland, or Jazz, orchestras, which were - greatly - improvisational bands, and the 'Score' types of musical theatre, recording, and dance orchestras. The Dixieland bands were not totally improvisational as many folks think. Because their repertoire was so limited (compared to the world of music), they were able to memorize the arrangements that they played over and over. In other instances, the groups used "head" arrangements. This is NOT to detract from these bands. They were, for the most part, a superb group which produced some of our greatest musicians. America, and the world, is indebted to them in many ways.

The early Ragtime era orchestras played music with a solid musicianship. Good examples are orchestras such as Jean Goldkette, the Casa Loma, Isham Jones, and Paul Whiteman, Ben Selvin, and many others.

Also, in the late '20s and early '30s, musicians such as James P. Johnson, Willie 'The Lion' Smith, Thomas "Fats" Waller and Earl 'Fatha' Hines were developing the "Stride Bass", in New York City. ("Pinetop" Smith, James P. Johnson, Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis were also responsible for the "Boogie Woogie" music style, which, in this writer's opinion, can be directly traced back to the Kansas City Walking Bass.)

This situation continued up to the mid-1930's. It was then, that Benny Goodman - with the help of such arrangers as (first) Spud Murphy and Jimmy Mundy, (and later) Fletcher Henderson - invented the 'Big Band' sound. ALL of the other bands of that period, would go on to copy (and improve upon) that sound. The Big Band sound was characterized by the use of what was known as a 'Riff'. For example, the Brass could play a certain riff over and over, while the Reeds carried a melody. This was NOT the style of the bands of the 1920s and '30s.

This type of 'good' music continued until the mid-1950's. At that point in time, a great many factors contributed to an erosion of interest in American Popular Songs. (Which have been making a big comeback here in the late 1990's up.)

At one time, I made a list of things that I felt contributed to this loss of interest in the big bands and their music. I got up to some ridiculous number and finally stopped. Here are just a few of the reasons that I noted at that time.

1. The invention of the 45/33 RPM record.
       Now, songs could be longer than 3 minutes. They were no longer
       being 'honed' to perfection. (It was the birth of the 'endless solos')
2. The invention of Television.
       Folks stayed home to watch TV. DIdn't go out dancing.
3. The decline of Dance Halls; Saturday night dansants, etc.
       Places that hired bands were drying up.
4. The end of the "depression era".
       Folks had money, they weren't tied down to their home areas.
5. Pay Scales.
       Bands found it increasingly difficult to pay their top musicians.
6. Band Costs.
        Few places could afford to pay what the bands required to operate.
7. The 2 year Amer.Fed.of Musicians Recording Strike.
       Gave rise to the Vocalists. The big bands were losing their following.
8. WWII.
       So many musicians went to war, it was not possible to stock the
       big bands with a suitable calibre of player.
9. Many of the great "Golden Era" composer/lyricists were dying off.
       (And a lesser breed were arriving.)
10. The Huge Population Increase (and Changing Social tastes).
       I don't mean the baby boom, I mean the huge influx of Immigrants from
       vastly different cultures. In 1945, we were a nation of 80 million.
       Now, we are a nation of 220 million.
11. The Baby Boom.
       Very, very young listeners required a more adolescent type of music.
12. The Beatles phenomena.
       The baby boomers were content to just hear a couple of electric
       string-boards.
13. The demise of the Broadway Musical.
       Broadway had been a birthing place for new songs.
14. Black musicians were trying to push Bop as a musical style.
       (Dizzy Gillespie is reported to have said it was a way to keep
       "lesser" (read: White) musicians away.)
15. The decline of Hollywood. A major employer of musicians and bands.
       Television effectively killed the old Hollywood.
16. The Cold War. (Believe it or not)
       Red 'agit-prop' agents promoted "alternative" music. (A laughable
       exercise, because far stronger forces were at work.)
17. The Hot Wars.
       A succession of wars, - Korea, Viet Nam and other 'hot' spots - have
       greatlydisrupted our society, and 'damaged' our music.
18. Electronic Advancements.
       "Solid State" devices made instrument synthesizers physically and
       economically feasible.(These do not always need great musical skill)
19. High Fidelity. (I call it "The Birth of the Tin Ear")
       Often, lesser intelligence equated high power with high quality music.
       (Nowadays, even the Brass section wants a microphone.)
20. The Drug Explosion.
       Diverted a lot of young people from entering music. The threat of
       crime and violence affects the quality of concerts, etc., etc.
21. The Decline of College Quality.
       College admission was mandated by many communities and the 'quality'
       of the graduates was questionable (in many instances). Few could
       write the poetry of a Cole Porter for example.)
22. The General "Dumbing Down of America"
       I first coined this phrase quite some time ago. Now it seems even
       more apt and has certainly affected our understanding of good music
       and skilled musicians.
23. CLOTHING.
       Yes clothing. Curiously, very few folks realize that the way we dress,
       affects the way we act and think. Dress in an 'intelligent' way, and
       we tend to act 'intelligently'. Dress like a 'bum', and (curiously)
       we do begin to act like one. In the Big Bands era, people dressed
       'properly', and dansants/concerts tended to be proper affairs. These
       days, folks dress in blue jeans and tend to have a 'shootout' at any
       event they are attending. (Yes, of course I am just generalizing,
       BUT problems do now crop up at dances/concerts.)
And, many more reasons.

All of the above, contributed to the demise of a "system" that had been in place. A system that promoted the bands, musicians and music.

As a result of all the above factors (and more, not mentioned here), we lost the "distribution mechanism" of good music. The musical films and theatre disappeared. The Hotel Dance Bands and club orchestras disappeared. The call for good composers and their finely honed "3 minute" recordings disappeared. Music Publishers ( and the 'song pluggers' as we knew them) disappeared. We had entered a new era. An era of mainly 'singer-songwriters', many of whom have little knowledge of crafting poetry or song forms, and whose lyrics are often maudlin and meritricious.

More or less, this is where we are today. I suppose that all of the above reasons (and others that I have left out) may be summed up in the old phrase- "the times, they were a-changin".

That peculiar period of our history has melted into the past. For a short period of time, (1920 - 1940) our nation produced a galaxy of super composers, lyricists and musicians - what we now call 'The Golden Age of American Popular Song'.

Speaking of that era, someone once said "It was a wonderful time. The Musicians loved playing the music to which people loved to listen." Recently, the general public seems to have stumbled and lost their way. By and large they no longer know what is good music and what is just plain Noise. And, most folks don't really know what they want to hear. A strange time. However -for people who love good music - 'The Beat' goes on; in small groups, young 'big bands' and elsewhere.

The milieu has changed. The great Dance Halls of the past are gone. (Too bad, too. They were great social meeting places.) The Hotel "House Orchestra" has disappeared. The Musical Theatre has changed, still I am not sure that the "Bands" have disappeared. I think that they will be with us for a long time. Slowly, they may yet regain their former superiority. I cannot conceive of a world without "real" musicians and "real" music, and real, live orchestras.

                                                                         signed, "Mainframe" Murray Pfeffer

PS
Since writing the above, a Neo-Swing movement has started around the world. Once again (late 1990s early 2000s), Swing bands are in demand as a new young generation discover the music and the pleasures of dancing in someone's arms while listening to a Love Song. Proof again that good music, dancing, and Love have never gone out of style. (Readers may wish to peruse our Swing Page, for some additional information.)