Alexander's Ragtime Band
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"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911; it is often inaccurately cited as his first global hit. Despite its title, the song is a march a
Cover of 1911 sheet music, featuring contralto Emma Carus, by artist John Frew
Irene and Vernon Castle, c. 1912
Publicity photograph of Irving Berlin with actors Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, and Don Ameche on the set of Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938).
Scott Joplin alleged that Irving Berlin, an acquaintance, plagiarized the melody.
Emma Carus
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Emma Carus was an American contralto singer from New York City who was in the cast of the original Ziegfeld Follies in 1907.
Alexander's Ragtime Band
…Alexander's innovative musical style. Berlin's friend Jack Alexander, a cornet-playing African-American bandleader, inspired the title character. Emma Carus, a vaudeville contralto renowned for her high lung power, introduced Berlin's song to the public in Spring 1911. Carus' brassy performance of "Alexander's…
Who's Who On The Stage; 1906