Maple Leaf Rag: Ragtime In Rural America

Maple Leaf Rag: Ragtime In Rural America

Maple Leaf Rag: Ragtime In Rural America is a fascinating historical collection exploring the way ragtime developed beyond the classic piano compositions of Scott Joplin and into the wider traditions of American folk, blues, string-band and country music. Originally issued by New World Records in 1977 as part of the Recorded Anthology of American Music, the album brings together 16 performances representing both Black and White musical traditions and demonstrating the remarkable reach of ragtime's syncopated rhythms.

The first side, explicitly titled “Black Tradition,” features an outstanding selection of African-American musicians and ensembles. The Dallas String Band opens with “Dallas Rag,” followed by Blind Blake's “Southern Rag,” Sugar Underwood's “Dew Drop Alley,” Blind Boy Fuller's “Piccolo Rag” and Cow Cow Davenport's “Atlanta Rag.” The side continues with Blind Willie McTell, Bunk Johnson and Rev. Gary Davis, whose guitar, piano, brass and ensemble performances reveal the many ways ragtime rhythms were absorbed into blues and early jazz.

The second side, “White Tradition,” demonstrates how ragtime travelled into Southern string-band, country and early bluegrass traditions. Jimmie Tarlton's “Mexican Rag,” Gid Tanner And His Skillet Lickers' “Hawkins Rag” and Roy Harvey And Jess Johnson's “Guitar Rag” are followed by performances from The Spooney Five, Bill Boyd And His Cowboy Ramblers and China Poplin. The side concludes with two particularly important links between ragtime and country music: Merle Travis's “Cannon Ball Rag/Bugle Call Rag” and Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs' “Randy Lynn Rag.”

The album is particularly interesting because it treats ragtime as a broad musical language rather than simply a piano style. New World Records' accompanying notes describe ragtime as a late-19th- and early-20th-century American phenomenon whose syncopation spread into numerous popular idioms, while the Smithsonian identifies the collection with ragtime, blues, string-band, folk and Southern/Appalachian musical traditions.

The recordings represented here span a substantial period, with material reaching from the 1920s through the 1960s, allowing the album to trace the continuing influence of ragtime across successive generations of American musicians. For collectors interested in early American music, country blues, ragtime, old-time music, string bands, early jazz and the roots of bluegrass, this is an especially rewarding historical compilation.

Tracklist

Side A – Black Tradition

A1. Dallas String Band – Dallas Rag – 2:46
A2. Blind Blake – Southern Rag – 2:47
A3. Sugar Underwood – Dew Drop Alley – 3:12
A4. Blind Boy Fuller – Piccolo Rag – 2:42
A5. Cow Cow Davenport – Atlanta Rag – 3:03
A6. Blind Willie McTell – Kill It Kid – 2:30
A7. Bunk Johnson And His Band – The Entertainer – 2:53
A8. Rev. Gary Davis – Maple Leaf Rag – 2:53

Side B – White Tradition

B1. Jimmie Tarlton – Mexican Rag – 2:59
B2. Gid Tanner And His Skillet Lickers – Hawkins Rag – 2:49
B3. Roy Harvey And Jess Johnson – Guitar Rag – 3:12
B4. The Spooney Five – Chinese Rag – 3:15
B5. Bill Boyd And His Cowboy Ramblers – Barn Dance – 2:51
B6. China Poplin – Sumter Rag / Steel Guitar Rag – 1:57
B7. Merle Travis – Cannon Ball Rag / Bugle Call Rag – 4:21
B8. Lester Flatt And Earl Scruggs – Randy Lynn Rag – 2:02