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~~Lord Larehip~~ · 02-25-2014, 08:00 PM

I was going to skip the proto-rag era but I've changed my mind--so here it is:

As far as can be determined, the term “ragtime” appeared in print for the first time about 1896. The term “rag” in relation to music first appeared in print in the Topeka Weekly Call of Topeka, Kansas August 16, 1891 which mentioned that “The Jordan hall ‘rags’” should be discontinued as a public nuisance. Jordan Hall was located in Tennesseetown, a community of African-Americans mainly from Tennessee and Mississippi that sprung on the edge of Topeka in the 1870s as conditions for blacks in the South had degenerated so badly that many had no choice but to flee. Even so, life in Tennesseetown was no picnic either. Comment was made in the 1890s concerning the badly substandard way of life in the little enclave.

The Topeka Weekly Call articles ran all through 1891 about the goings-on at Jordan Hall. By October, an article appeared in the paper complaining that “A certain class of girls in Tennesseetown sings a song called ‘Proctor Knok’ from sun rise until sun set.” In November, the paper reported that “Misses Electro P. and Minnie E. are very fond of singing ‘Proctor Knot.’ They sing it to the boys at festivals and entertainments.”

We assume that the dance done to accompany this song was called the rag. It must have appeared scandalous to whites in the area. But was this related to ragtime? It would appear so. In 1909, an article appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that read in part:

“A negro woman, whose name is unknown to fame, is declared to have invented ragtime in St. Louis in 1888, in a house, now fallen, at Broadway and Clark avenue… It was the day of Proctor Knott, a famous racehorse, and he was the theme of an epoch-making ballad which she sang. One stanza has been preserved:
‘I-za a-gwine tuh Little Rock, Tuh put mah money on Proctor Knott.’”

The song couldn’t have been too old since Proctor Knott was foaled in 1886. A 1913 article in the Journal of American Folk-Lore printed a version of “Proctor Knott” that the author states was collected in 1909 from the rural whites of Mississippi:

Bet your money on Proctor Knott!
He’s a horse of mine.
Done quit runnin’;
He’s gone to flyin’,
All the way from Little Rock.
Bet your money of Proctor Knott,
Proctor Knott run so fast
You couldn’t see nothing but the jockeys ass.

We can be fairly certain that this song was originally played on the banjo which is an instrument with roots in Africa. It is not European. There are several African instruments similar to a banjo—one even called an mbanza. There is no record of white people playing banjos until about the 1840s with the rise of minstrelsy. So the ties of minstrelsy to ragtime are not hard to see. Early ragtime more or less was a continuation of minstrelsy.

An mbanza.

A very early proto-rag from 1890 was “The Darkie’s Dream by G. L. Lansing which was originally written for the banjo. It has genuine raggy elements in it indicating that some of what went into ragtime that gave it its character was already present in latter-day minstrelsy.

Early Rag 1890 - The Darkie's Dream by G.L. Lansing (Old banjo tune) - YouTube

Another early proto-ragtimer was Monroe H. Rosenfeld. His 1891 piece, “The Alabama Walk Around” sounds like it may have been written for a band. It doesn’t sound like something converted from banjo. The influence, in this case, was probably Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869):

Early Rag (1891) The Alabama Walk Around by Monroe H. Rosenfeld - YouTube
Charles Drumheller’s 1893 piece “Banjo Twang” has a definite Gottschalk influence and is close to a true rag or a cakewalk.

Early Rag 1893 - Banjo Twang by Charles Drumheller (Legacy of Louis Moreau Gottschalk) - YouTube

Gottschalk MUST be given credit as being a major influence on the later piano ragtime. I don’t think there can be any doubt about it. Born in New Orleans to a Jewish father and a Creole mother, Gottschalk was musically talented from an early age and recognized as a piano prodigy. At 13, he began traveling, going to Europe. He also spent great amounts of time in Cuba, Central and South America. In fact, he spent most of his musical career outside the United States. He absorbed and incorporated musical styles from every country and region he visited. During the Civil War, Gottschalk considered himself a New Orleans native but supported the Union cause. He detested slavery. He left the U.S. in 1865 and never returned, collapsing during a concert he was giving in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1869. He never recovered and died at age 40.

Below is Gottschalk’s piece, “The Banjo” which definitely defied the norms of its time and lent itself more to the ragtime era which he never lived to see. Definitely a man ahead of his time:

Philip Martin Performs "The Banjo" by Gottschalk In Mexico - YouTube

Ben Harney (1872-1938) was another early ragtimer. No one is sure where he was born—either Kentucky or Tennessee. He began publishing rags in 1895, the same years as Ernest Hogan and some date him earlier than Hogan. Supposed by some to be a light-skinned black man, Harney was white. He may also be the originator of scat-singing which was also written out on the sheet music of his 1899 piece “Cake Walk in the Sky.” He often billed himself as the originator of ragtime but all ragtime scholars agree this cannot be the case. But he is an early one and definitely helped to shape the genre in a very fundamental way. His piece below, “You Been a Good Old Wagon But You Done Broke Down,” sounds like it may have been based on “Froggy Went A-Courtin’”.

Ben Harney, 1895 - You've Been a Good Old Wagon (First Ragtime song ever published) - YouTube
“You Been a Good Old Wagon” Ben Harney (first published in 1895)

Sylvester Louis Ossman (1868-1923), or Vess L. Ossman as he was known, hailed from Hudson, Hew York. He was quite prolific and recorded solo material as well as backing vocalists as Arthur Collins and Len Spencer with banjo accompaniment. He also toured and recorded in England. His popularity waned when a new ragtime banjoist appeared by 1910—Fred Van Eps. Ossman ceased recording in 1913 for two years before resuming his career. He made his final recordings in 1917 and thereafter went on the tour circuit. He died of a heart attack in 1923 after finishing a show.

Vess L. Ossman "A Bunch of Rags" rare visuals George Gaskin, Dan W. Quinn, Will F. Denny Phonoscope - YouTube
Bunch of Rags, Vess L. Ossman (1898 recording)

02-25-2014, 08:00 PM	#7 (permalink)
~~Lord Larehip~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 899	I was going to skip the proto-rag era but I've changed my mind--so here it is: As far as can be determined, the term “ragtime” appeared in print for the first time about 1896. The term “rag” in relation to music first appeared in print in the Topeka Weekly Call of Topeka, Kansas August 16, 1891 which mentioned that “The Jordan hall ‘rags’” should be discontinued as a public nuisance. Jordan Hall was located in Tennesseetown, a community of African-Americans mainly from Tennessee and Mississippi that sprung on the edge of Topeka in the 1870s as conditions for blacks in the South had degenerated so badly that many had no choice but to flee. Even so, life in Tennesseetown was no picnic either. Comment was made in the 1890s concerning the badly substandard way of life in the little enclave. The Topeka Weekly Call articles ran all through 1891 about the goings-on at Jordan Hall. By October, an article appeared in the paper complaining that “A certain class of girls in Tennesseetown sings a song called ‘Proctor Knok’ from sun rise until sun set.” In November, the paper reported that “Misses Electro P. and Minnie E. are very fond of singing ‘Proctor Knot.’ They sing it to the boys at festivals and entertainments.” We assume that the dance done to accompany this song was called the rag. It must have appeared scandalous to whites in the area. But was this related to ragtime? It would appear so. In 1909, an article appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that read in part: “A negro woman, whose name is unknown to fame, is declared to have invented ragtime in St. Louis in 1888, in a house, now fallen, at Broadway and Clark avenue… It was the day of Proctor Knott, a famous racehorse, and he was the theme of an epoch-making ballad which she sang. One stanza has been preserved: ‘I-za a-gwine tuh Little Rock, Tuh put mah money on Proctor Knott.’” The song couldn’t have been too old since Proctor Knott was foaled in 1886. A 1913 article in the Journal of American Folk-Lore printed a version of “Proctor Knott” that the author states was collected in 1909 from the rural whites of Mississippi: Bet your money on Proctor Knott! He’s a horse of mine. Done quit runnin’; He’s gone to flyin’, All the way from Little Rock. Bet your money of Proctor Knott, Proctor Knott run so fast You couldn’t see nothing but the jockeys ass. We can be fairly certain that this song was originally played on the banjo which is an instrument with roots in Africa. It is not European. There are several African instruments similar to a banjo—one even called an mbanza. There is no record of white people playing banjos until about the 1840s with the rise of minstrelsy. So the ties of minstrelsy to ragtime are not hard to see. Early ragtime more or less was a continuation of minstrelsy. An mbanza. A very early proto-rag from 1890 was “The Darkie’s Dream by G. L. Lansing which was originally written for the banjo. It has genuine raggy elements in it indicating that some of what went into ragtime that gave it its character was already present in latter-day minstrelsy. Early Rag 1890 - The Darkie's Dream by G.L. Lansing (Old banjo tune) - YouTube Another early proto-ragtimer was Monroe H. Rosenfeld. His 1891 piece, “The Alabama Walk Around” sounds like it may have been written for a band. It doesn’t sound like something converted from banjo. The influence, in this case, was probably Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869): Early Rag (1891) The Alabama Walk Around by Monroe H. Rosenfeld - YouTube Charles Drumheller’s 1893 piece “Banjo Twang” has a definite Gottschalk influence and is close to a true rag or a cakewalk. Early Rag 1893 - Banjo Twang by Charles Drumheller (Legacy of Louis Moreau Gottschalk) - YouTube Gottschalk MUST be given credit as being a major influence on the later piano ragtime. I don’t think there can be any doubt about it. Born in New Orleans to a Jewish father and a Creole mother, Gottschalk was musically talented from an early age and recognized as a piano prodigy. At 13, he began traveling, going to Europe. He also spent great amounts of time in Cuba, Central and South America. In fact, he spent most of his musical career outside the United States. He absorbed and incorporated musical styles from every country and region he visited. During the Civil War, Gottschalk considered himself a New Orleans native but supported the Union cause. He detested slavery. He left the U.S. in 1865 and never returned, collapsing during a concert he was giving in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1869. He never recovered and died at age 40. Below is Gottschalk’s piece, “The Banjo” which definitely defied the norms of its time and lent itself more to the ragtime era which he never lived to see. Definitely a man ahead of his time: Philip Martin Performs "The Banjo" by Gottschalk In Mexico - YouTube Ben Harney (1872-1938) was another early ragtimer. No one is sure where he was born—either Kentucky or Tennessee. He began publishing rags in 1895, the same years as Ernest Hogan and some date him earlier than Hogan. Supposed by some to be a light-skinned black man, Harney was white. He may also be the originator of scat-singing which was also written out on the sheet music of his 1899 piece “Cake Walk in the Sky.” He often billed himself as the originator of ragtime but all ragtime scholars agree this cannot be the case. But he is an early one and definitely helped to shape the genre in a very fundamental way. His piece below, “You Been a Good Old Wagon But You Done Broke Down,” sounds like it may have been based on “Froggy Went A-Courtin’”. Ben Harney, 1895 - You've Been a Good Old Wagon (First Ragtime song ever published) - YouTube “You Been a Good Old Wagon” Ben Harney (first published in 1895) Sylvester Louis Ossman (1868-1923), or Vess L. Ossman as he was known, hailed from Hudson, Hew York. He was quite prolific and recorded solo material as well as backing vocalists as Arthur Collins and Len Spencer with banjo accompaniment. He also toured and recorded in England. His popularity waned when a new ragtime banjoist appeared by 1910—Fred Van Eps. Ossman ceased recording in 1913 for two years before resuming his career. He made his final recordings in 1917 and thereafter went on the tour circuit. He died of a heart attack in 1923 after finishing a show. Vess L. Ossman "A Bunch of Rags" rare visuals George Gaskin, Dan W. Quinn, Will F. Denny Phonoscope - YouTube Bunch of Rags, Vess L. Ossman (1898 recording) Last edited by Lord Larehip; 02-25-2014 at 08:36 PM.