Alexander's Ragtime Band Columbia A1032

[alelooooooya]

thanks for posting !

[pjklondon]

@ agnuswild Grow up!

[BC1Dan]

This would've been alot better autotuned.

[illidnarg]

There is MUCH historical evidence that Irving Berlin lifted the music for Alexanders Ragtime Band from Scott Joplin's unpublished Opera Treemonisha which Joplin--according to his Widow--had to rewrite the Treemonisha score before Joplin and his wife Lottie published it in 1911--the Next Year --in 1912--Joplin released the rag SCOTT JOPLIN's NEW RAG--in an angry reference to the Berlin theft--Alexanders Ragtime Band is a Berlin/Joplin composition--Joplin SHOULD get credit for the MUSIC !!!!!

[sanclementekid]

True Americana

[ParagramTree]

This proves that the old songs are the best. How many of todays songs do you think will still be being played in one hundred years time?

[missjenzz]

fantastic!!!!!!!!!

[AngelaRed]

must say, the voice reminds me of Al Jolson

[rankingtrevor]

"come on and hear, come on and hear!"

[trumpsahead]

This tune popped into my head while I was practicing on my trumpet. As it's not in my repertoire of songs I ran to the great Youtube for info and here I am. Your song was the first and don't recall this version; loved every second. Everyone is familiar with Jolson's and Crosby's versions if you're over 50 but the Collins & Harlan version I don't recall. Thanks for posting a treat.

[zenzero62]

very nice . thank you. I was looking for this song by Bessie Smith, but not available. thank you. From Québec City, Canada.

[sparkyization]

Alexander the Great!! !;-D

[beckasha83]

this is awesome.

[Neopia123]

Thanks for posting this! It's become one of my favorie songs! I actually found a verison of this recorded by Collions And Harlan on a Victor record yesterday. There are a few differences between yours and mine, but for 50 cents, who could pass it up?

[didugame]

is this song played on NPR on saterdays

[Linkage1992]

Wow this song's 100 years old.

[christo930]

Does this machine have a horn? It looks like there is just a hole where the horn is supposed to go in it. What is the needle made out of? Do you think that you could use modern material to make a needle that has better and or louder sound?

I think it's so neat that you can listen to recorded music without electricity, just good old muscle power and acustics.

[J4jackass]

love the crackling sound *Sigh*

We will never get to know how music was like back then.... 

[Asxhmoula]

I've loved this song ever since I first heard it in primary school. A classic!

[Fiftiesflashback]

The bestest band what am!

[Kirke182]

Irving Berlin ripped off Scott Joplin's "A Real Slow Drag" to write this.  Joplin turned his piece into Crown-Seminary-Snyder directly to Irving Berlin in 1911. Berlin returned it some weeks later saying is wasn't up to snuff. A few weeks after that, "Alexander" comes out using Joplin's song for the verses. Only the chorus part seems to be original. Joplin was infuriated and never forgave Berlin.

[Michunddersputnik]

Møkkbra spellt!

[Imjin57]

Thank You so much, I have sent this out to all my friends.

No recording can ever follow this wonderful recording by Billy and Ada, it is the best ever and brings tears to my eyes. The best ragtime song, ever written

[Kirke182]

@Imjin57 It has "ragtime" in the title but this song is NOT a rag.

[casinobowling]

Never heard the verses before! At first i was thinking: Wrong song!

[HYAAALP]

Wow, a vinyl that's survived for 99 years... I guess now that it's digital, it'll survive forever!

[Fiftiesflashback]

@HYAAALP Correction: It's not vinyl, it's shellac!

[axeman1063]

@HYAAALP  Unless of course your hard drive crashes and you hadn't backed it up to disk twice. LoL

[christo930]

@HYAAALP I wouldn't count on it. First, you are going to have a problem with compatibility. We can't read discs from 20 years ago because the standard changed, imagine how radically different the storage media of 99 years in the future will be! Next, you have to worry about the storage medium. CDs are notoriously susceptible to scratches and are rendered useless by them, whereas a record scratch only messes up the part of the song with the scratch.

These records aren't vinyl btw.

[Parsfan1885]

@HYAAALP Its not a vinyl, the old 78's were made of graphite. Vinyl came with the new 33i/2 speed records.

[Imjin57]

retrod1

This is as good as it gets, and I have heard this song many times, but nobody has ever done it like Billy Murray and Ada Jones.

Thanks for putting this on and showing the record player. I am 77 years old and would have given anything to have had a little portable record player like this one when I was growing up.

[courtneyangel98]

We singg this in Musical Theatre:p

Veryy high pitched thoughh[:

[datalal624]

Wow, this is a great recording, considering how old it is! :-) Thanks for sharing this, awesome!

[xluminex]

..honey lamb...

[sbarr10]

My favorite version of this song that I've heard on Youtube so far !

[Pheoinix123]

we had to sing this song in chorus but there was another verse

[edisonphonographs]

Very good song! That victor sounds great!Where did you get this phonograph?

Thanks

[retrod1]

Thanks! I bought this Victrola at the 'Seven Mile Fair' in 1962!

[robertybobertyboo]

Brilliant! Thank you for sharing.

[BCravenO4]

Not a girl I would have taken along with me haha She sounds like she'd've been spitting tobacco!

[Vampiracho]

Thanks Retrod1. My grandfather used to sing and play this number for me on the piano when I was a little kid in the 70s. He came from a time when most houses had a piano that was used to play popular music. Now music is mostly just a listening activity.

[KandBproduction]

we sang this at our 2008 Holiday concert at my school. But the words are different, and there are different instruments.

[bjnevin]

The musical film with Alice Faye and Tyrone Power is one of the greatest ever made...

[bURRkEEF]

Glad to here a non worn out copy of this. I found this same one on Columbia for $1.00 and I thought I had done pretty good. You know, even with significant wear some of the old records still have good sound on them. Well the grooves on mine are so far gone that it's barely worth playing...I guess the sound was worth a dollar. That's a cool player too!

[fuzzbear6240]

Retrod1, Perfect! What a great recording, C & H are as good if not better than Jolson & Crosby. Is that that a 2-55? It sounds great. Thanks for sharing this.

Regards, J.

[retrod1]

Yes, a 2-55. I bought it at a flea market when I was 10 years old, that was 47 years ago! The old gent selling Victrolas had about half a dozen portables. He had been in the repair business when they were new! I carefully selected the 2-55 from the line-up. He said "sonny you picked out the best of them" He then told me to take care of it and I have, all these years.

[fuzzbear6240]

Retrod1, Yes you certainly picked a winner! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Regards, John

[uptonman666]

@retrod1 what a great story. love the song also. Irving Berlin was a great song writer. I enjoyed this thanks for posting.

[gramophoneshane]

Great song! Probably THE most well known song of the ragtime era. I'm still waiting to find a copy after 30 yrs. I've only ever found a banjo solo on cylinder :-(

[mairin14]

Very cool! Thanks for playing that!

[rotunda57]

That was the bestest band what am!

[jessesgirl10]

Oh that's funny, I thought it was a woman until I read trolleybus1962's comment.

[trolleybus1962]

One of the singers sounds like a woman yet Collins and Harlan were both men.

[retrod1]

The women's role is usually performed by Byron Harlan. Collins & Harlan were the most popular recording team of the Ragtime Era.

[ragnoj]

very good!