By
ragtime historian and performer,
"Perfessor"
Bill Edwards. Bill has consistently placed in the top five of the World Championship
of Old-Time Piano Playing, and won the title in 1991.
This
album is a kind of first for me, and perhaps for the melding of music and
literature. It was suggested to me by Canadian author Gabriele Wills as she was
working on her historical novel. Using me as a reference for appropriate music
for the 1914 time period the novel starts in, the idea was proffered that
"wouldn't it be nice if we could have a CD to accompany the music referenced in
the novel?" So here it is. The original covers and biographies of some of the
composers can also be found on my
web site. But
overall, I am hoping that when you read the novel you also pop the CD in on
occasion and take a trip back in time to the Muskoka Lakes as the world was
just starting to feel the stirrings of The Great War. Musically Yours,
Bill Edwards
By
the Beautiful Sea: Harry Carroll (M) and Harold R. Atteridge (L) -
1914: No other song about the joys of summer and the seashore has endured
as long or as well as this one. In fact, Carroll wrote while sitting on a long
hotel porch on Coney Island one pleasant summer afternoon. This piece was a
million seller quite early on. A true sign of a successful tune, it was
occasionally interpolated into stage musicals, including some versions of No
No, Nannette and The Boy Friend.
By
the Light of the Silvery Moon: Gus Edwards (M) and Edward Madden (L) -
1909 - 1907: For some reason, moon songs became popular around this time,
with this one leading the pack. Actually, any opportunity to use that
titillating rhyming word "spoon" (a provocative term at that time) was readily
embraced. In Vaudeville, this quickly became a great soft shoe number
(essentially shuffling on a sandy stage).
Aviation Rag: Al Marzian (as Mark Janza) - 1910: Musically this
rag is very descriptive in relation to its title. There are elements in here
that were later used in the Aviation Suite by arranger/composer Ferde
Grofé in the 1920s. The introduction could well be a propeller spinning
in preparation for take-off. It is the trio that could be described as a rough
landing or a crash followed by settling dust. It is truly a journey of the
period that represents the pioneering days of air travel.
Let
Me Call You Sweetheart: Leo Friedman (M) and Beth Slater Whitson (L) -
1911: Nobody can argue about this tune's popularity, which has been
constant since it was first published. After a bad deal the composers made on
Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland, the team followed it up with this song a year
later. Will Rossiter's brother Harold started his own publishing firm and
bought this song, rewarding the writers with much-deserved royalties.
Sweetheart ultimately sold over six million copies.
Oh!
You Beautiful Doll: Nat D. Ayer (M) and Seymour Brown (L) - 1911: It
is the verse that is most musically interesting in this piece. It is notable
that the verse is actually comprised of the classic 12 bar blues pattern, and
it was introduced more than a year before either Memphis Blues or Baby Seals
Blues. Since the 1920s this elegant song has been performed with a swing
rhythm, however it was originally written in a straight syncopated style as
presented here.
Come, Josephine in My Flying Machine (Up She Goes!): Fred Fisher (M)
and Alfred Bryan (L) - 1910: Flight was still quite a novelty in 1910, not
for the feint of heart, and not even yet considered for war. This piece
capitalized on the romance of flight more than anything, using a clever rhyming
name for the femme fatale and the contraption fatal. It was a big hit
overall.
I
Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now: Joseph E. Howard (M), Will M. Hough and
Frank R. Adams (M) - 1908: Not to be taken too seriously, this poignant
song about the hazards of infidelity and pining for a former partner was part
of a musical comedy of the era called The Prince Of Tonight. The main character
is a typical egotistic male who has many lessons to learn, and one of them is
contained in this beautiful comic song. Howard, was also know for such gems as
Hello Ma Baby.
Row, Row, Row: James V. Monaco (M) and William Jerome (L) - 1912:
This song was interpolated into the 5th edition of the Ziegfeld Follies. There
is certainly a lot of room for a scintillating interpretation of the lyrics,
which are actually more naughty than nautical in nature. Regardless of the
double meanings, it has been a favorite of old-time pianists since its debut.
Listen carefully for a couple of other "watery" quotes interspersed
throughout.
Moonlight Bay: Percy Wenrich and Edward Madden - 1912: Long a
favorite of vocal quartets, the chorus of this placid song is well known by all
fans of old-time music. It is referring to a memory, as the beautiful verses
tell about pining for a love now long lost. It most certainly would have
brought memories of any similar location, including the Muskoka Lakes, so it's
appeal was universal. The quote at the end of this arrangement is from Love's
Old Sweet Song, referenced in the lyrics.
If
You Were the Only Girl in the World: Nat D. Ayer (M) and Clifford Grey
(L) - 1916: One of the more musically and structurally advanced love
ballads of the ragtime era, this represents some of Ayer's finest work. It was
a hit many times over, having been recorded frequently from its debut through
the 1970s.
Muskoka Falls - Indian Idyll: Joseph F. Lamb/ Bill Edwards -
1902/2006: The successful publication of Hiawatha (actually a train song,
not an Indian piece) in 1901 was quickly noted by many composers who came up
with their own Indian-themed pieces. Before his famed ragtime composition
career, Joseph Lamb was working and attending school in Kitchener and staying
at Walper House, so may well have ventured to the Muskoka area, which could
have provided some inspiration. This was provided to me by my friends Pat Lamb
Conn (his daughter) and Canadian music researcher Ted Tjaden, but the piece was
not completed. At Pat's behest I added a trio and an interlude. Here is the debut of this now complete
work.
Alexander's Ragtime Band: Irving Berlin - 1911: This is
undoubtedly one of the most popular songs of the Ragtime era, and the one that
made Berlin famous. Based largely on a bugle call and the Stephen Foster
chestnut Old Folks At Home (S'wanee River), it contains virtually nothing of
Ragtime except for the word. Nonetheless, it is evocative of popular song of
the time, and was even played on the Titanic's fateful voyage.
Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland: Leo Friedman (M) and Beth Slater
Whitson (L) - 1909: This charming waltz is actually the parent of Let Me
Call You Sweetheart, written the following year. When Friedman and Whitson put
this song out in Chicago it quickly caught on, and soon caught the attention of
Will Rossiter, possibly Chicago's largest publisher at that time. Rossiter
bought the song outright, put popular Chicago singer Reine Davies on the cover,
and realized sales of over two million copies in short order. But the composers
saw nothing more than the direct proceeds of their sale to Rossiter.
Keep the Home Fires Burning: Ivor Novello (M) and Lena Ford (L) -
1914: This song quickly became popular in the composers' native England,
and made Novello, who would later fight in the war and survive two crash
landings, famous overnight. It also caught on in the US and Canada once they
became involved in the conflict, and it still rings true today in its sentiment
that the soldiers will always need a home front to go to and feel their support
from.
If
I Had You: Irving Berlin - 1914: Long before his finest ballads
Always and What'll I Do?, the versatile Berlin was getting into the genre
successfully, intermixing ballads such as this with his latest dance tunes,
comic songs and ragtime numbers. Note that Irving rarely wrote anything
instrumental, preferring to skillfully combine words and music into one overall
emotional collective.
It's A Long, Long Way to Tipperary: Harry Williams (M) and Jack Judge
(L) - 1912: Another British export, this was originally a ballad about
Ireland - It's A Long Way to Connemara - in 1909, but it never took off. In
order to win a bet in 1912 that he could have a new song in 24 hours, Jack
changed the destination to Tipperary and the overall feel to a persistent
march. Harry was indignant about the unilateral change, but as it became a big
war time hit he got over it. A music hall song, it instantly became a
marching-to-war anthem in 1914 through repetition and happenstance, not such a
long way to go.
Melancholy (My Melancholy Baby): Ernie Burnett (M) and George Norton
(L) - 1912: This was Burnett's only hit, but it has appeared perpetually in
recordings and movies almost since it was published. Starting out as more of a
slow march song with a light swing, it is fortuitous that musicians soon
exploited its ballad potential, part of its charm and endurance. The original
title was quickly changed to the more famous phrase due to public references of
the song by that name.
Give My Regards to Broadway: George M. Cohan - 1904: Think about
the significance of New York in the global economy, not just now but as far
back as 300 years and certainly in 1900. It was the gravitational center of
stage entertainment, music publishing, sound recording and general port of
entry for the U.S. representing the glitz and glamour of the new century.
Cohan's point was that the mention of Broadway and 42nd street in many parts of
the world was significant enough to garner attention, and made those Americans
who were abroad wistful for home.
Visit
Bill at www.perfessorbill.com
