BUNNY FOY with Lino Patruno Jazz Show <br />"Alexander's Ragtime Band" <br />Bunny Foy (vocals), Carlo Bagnoli (soprano saxophone), Sante Palumbo (piano), Lino Patruno (guitar), Marco Ratti (bass), <br />Carlo Sola (drums). <br />Milan, January 29, 1979 <br /><br /><a class="link" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.linopatruno.it">http://www.linopatruno.it</a> <br /><a class="link" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cambiamusica.it">http://www.cambiamusica.it</a> <br /><a class="link" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.michaelsupnick.com">http://www.michaelsupnick.com</a> <br /><br />"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is the name of a song by Irving Berlin. It was his first major hit, in 1911. There is some evidence, although inconclusive, that Irving Berlin borrowed the melody from a draft composition submitted by Scott Joplin that had been submitted to a publisher. <br /><br />"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is not itself an example of the ragtime musical idiom; apart from some mild syncopation, it has almost none of ragtime's characteristic features. Nonetheless, the lyrics clearly refer to the arrival of African-American musicians on the popular scene with their then-new idea of playing standard songs in a more exciting up-tempo style. <br />This song was played on the decks of the Titanic by the ship's band, as the ship sank beneath the waters on April 15, 1912. <br /><br />The song has been recorded by many artists, including Al Jolson, Billy Murray, Louis Armstrong, George Formby, Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ray Charles. <br /><br />A 1938 film of the same name was loosely based on the song. <br /><br />A version of the song set to a disco beat was recorded by Ethel Merman for her infamous Ethel Merman Disco Album in 1979. <br /><br />The song was used in Tennessee politics by Lamar Alexander, a trained pianist, Governor of Tennessee and U.S. Senator, who performed the song for campaign events, including during his 1996 run for the Republican presidential nomination. <br /><a class="link" rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander's_Ragtime_Band">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander's_Ragtime_Band</a>
