Customer Reviews

They All Played Ragtime

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Jazz historian Edward A. Berlin has written (somewhat resentfully, for he feels that its very excellence has been a barrier to further, and sometimes more accurate studies of the subject):

"This remarkable book, often called 'the bible of ragtime,' has enthralled, enlightened, and inspired' generations of ragtime enthusiasts. The authors had the foresight to locate and capture the words and stories of surviving ragtimers and cast them in a beguiling form that, more than a half-century later, continues to work its magic on new readers. Though a few, isolated articles on ragtime had preceded publication of this book, They All Played Ragtime, at least figuratively, is where ragtime research begins.

The book also has undoubted flaws. It expresses attitudes that clearly reveal leftist political ideology of the 1930s . . . too sharply drawing and exaggerating class distinctions between the purity of 'folk' inspiration against the commercialism of 'Tin Pan Alley' craft. .. and some quotations are even taken out of context. .. Still, the power of the book and its tale remains. Most successive writers merely restate what they read in They All Played Ragtime."

I have just read this book in an old edition and have also fallen under its spell and that of the African American geniuses who created this subtle, supremely musical art. What a shame this book is not now more widely available. In my reading I have often stopped to put it down to marvel a bit over a turn of phrase or moving portrait, such as those of Scott Joplin and his idealistic white patron, the unsung hero, John Stark.

Ragtime music is arguably the first distinctively \American\ music to achieve both commercial success and international acceptance, preceeding jazz by (at least) a full generation. Moreover, it was the first American music in which the prowess of both black and white musicians as composers and performers was routinely acknowledged by the general public. Considering that as late as 1960 white DJ's were still catching flack for playing too much "black music", this interracial recognition as far back as the 1890s was truly phenominal. No other book I've read on this period captures the flavor and uniqueness of the ragtime era as well as "They All Played Ragtime."

Any serious ragtime afficianado should enjoy this book. Indeed, it is essential; the "bible of ragtime" as another reviewer has called it. Researched and written during what has been termed "the first ragtime revival" (late 1940s - early 1950s), this book is refered to by pretty much every other well-received ragtime title written since.

It is true that Blesh and Janis weren't opperating under the same standards for research and investigative journalism that we've come to expect by the 21st century, and the book does contain some inaccuracies. These flaws, however, are more than made up for by the fact that the authors essentially based this book on interviews with people who actualy lived through the original ragtime era, including some of the people responsible for it's music.

By the time of the next big ragtime resurgance in the mid-1970s most of these folks had long since passed on. Consequently, to get the first-hand /human/ element of the ragtime story, "They All Played Ragtime" has become pretty much the source from which most, if not all waters flow. You can get more detailed and precise information about ragtime \music\ from the books by Berlin, Jasen, and Tichenor, but to get a "feel" for the \era\ itself, nothing I've read elsewhere beats this book.

The first edition, published in 1950 went out of print for a number of years. The book was re-released in 1974 during the second big ragtime revival. Unfortunately, it once again seems to be out of print. But given the high contemporary interest in ragtime, perhaps if enough people go looking for it, we might see a new printing. If not, there are still plenty of used copies around, and obtaining a copy for a reasonable price (especially of the 1974 reprint) is not that difficult, and well worth the cost and effort.

If you like ragtime, that is. But if you -didn't- like ragtime, would you even be reading this review? :-)