I am studying twentieth century history with a couple of the urchins this year, and I thought it would be fun, and perhaps instructive, to listen to some popular tunes as we study through the century. We started in 1900, but the first songs I introduced were both published in 1902. 1902 was, of course, pre-recorded music and pre-radio for all practical purposes. Music back then was sold, not on CD or tape or even LP record, but as sheet music. Yes, this idea of not being able to purchase a recording of the latest musical composition, but rather having to buy the music and produce your own rendition or go to a concert hall somewhere to listen, was a new concept for the urchins.

At any rate, a couple of popular songs published in 1902 were:

In the Good Old Summertime lyrics by Ren Shields and music by George Evans. George “Honey Boy” Evans was originally from Wales, but he joined a minstrel show when he was a young performer of about twenty years of age. After that, he performed in blackface for much of his singing career, just ike Al Jolson. (We watched the movie The Jolson Story, and the urchins and I agreed that it was interesting, but much too long.) To get back to Honey Boy, he and Mr. Shields were fooling around one day when George mentioned the “good old summertime” and out of that chance remark came a hit song —or what passed for a hit in 1902. It was published, sung on Broadway, and people played it on their pianos and sang about the good old summertime for many years thereafter. Still do sometimes, I suppose.
Information from Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America by Frank Cullen, Florence Hackman, Donald P. McNeilly.

Tootsie wootsie????? The urchins got a kick out of that one. (Complete lyrics and music.)

The Entertainer by Scott Joplin. Wow, I didn’t know that Scott Joplin was from Texas! He was born in East Texas and grew up in Texarkana, of all places. When he published The Entertainer in 1902, he had already had a success with his Maple Leaf Rag. Of course, I know The Entertainer from the movie The Sting, and my urchins know it only because Eldest Daughter played it for recital once a upon a time. (Isn’t it amazing how memorable those recital pieces become after having been practiced ad infinitum.) Mr. Joplin’s music is one of the earliest examples of “ragtime”, a musical genre that became all the rage in the first decade of the twentieth century. Ragtime is “music characterixed by a syncopated melodic line and regularly accented accompaniment, evolved by black American musicinas in the 1890’s and played especially on the piano.” You can listen to a really quick tempo version of The Entertainer here.

Can you tell that I’m not an expert on music, classical, popular, or otherwise? But I’m having fun. Those of you who are music people, how would you describe a piece of music played fast?