Alexander's Ragtime Band
music by irving berlin
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ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND
ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND (SONG CAR-TUNES) 1926 |
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ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND
ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND (SCREEN SONGS) 1931
ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND (SCREEN SONGS) 1931
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Alexander's Ragtime Band was the first major hit from Irving Berlin - the infamous composer and lyricist that is considered to be the greatest songwriter in history. It is believed that the song was written about a popular New Orleans band known as Alexander's Ragtime Band, lead by bandleader Alexander Joseph Waltzke. It is also believed by some that part of the melody was "borrowed" from a draft of the Scott Joplin tune A Real Slow Drag. In 1911, different versions of the song were #1, #2, #3 and #4 on the charts, and in 1912 another version was #3 on the charts. The song maintained a spot on the charts for the next five decades. The song made it's first appearance on the big screen in 1926 when Max Fleischer used the song for an installment of his Song Car-Tunes series. Fleischer used the song again in 1931 as an installment of the Screen Songs series. Legend has it that in 1912, as the Titanic was sinking, the song was one of the first songs played by the band in the ship's 1st class lounge.
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1911
ARTHUR COLLINS & BYRON G. HARLAN |
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1911
BILLY MURRAY |
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1912
GOTTLIEB'S ORCHESTRA |
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1912
PRINCE'S ORCHESTRA |
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1913
FRED VAN EPS |
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1927
BESSIE SMITH |
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1927
TED LEWIS AND HIS BAND |
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1928
VINCENT LOPEZ AND HIS CASA LOPEZ ORCHESTRA |
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1930
CASA LOMA ORCHESTRA |
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19??
HARRY ROY AND HIS ORCHESTRA |
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1934
BOSWELL SISTERS |
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1935
RAY NOBLE AND HIS ORCHESTRA |
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1936
BENNY GOODMAN |
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1937
LOUIS ARMSTRONG |
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1938
EDDIE CANTOR ETHEL MERMAN & AL JOLSEN (RADIO PROMO) |
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1938
ALICE FAYE from the film ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND |
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1938
TRAILER from the film ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND |
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1938
ALAN HOLMES AND THE CHARLESTON BAND |
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1938
NEW MAYFAIR DANCE ORCHESTRA |
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1938
BOB WILLIS AND HIS TEXAS PLAYBOYS |
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1938
CONNIE BOSWELL AND BING CROSBY |
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19??
WAYNE KING AND HIS ORCHESTRA |
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1939
TEDDY PETERSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA |
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19??
THE ANDREWS SISTERS |
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19??
BILLY ECKSTINE & SARAH VAUGHAN |
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19??
JOHNNY MERCER AND THE PIED PIPERS |
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19??
ERNIE HECKSCHER |
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1946
IRVING KAUFMAN |
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1947
AL JOLSEN AND BING CROSBY |
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1947
FRANK SINATRA INTRODUCES IRVING BERLIN |
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1952
JUDY GARLAND |
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19??
OSCAR PETERSON |
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195?
LIBERACE |
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19??
DUKES OF DIXIELAND |
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1958
ELLA FITZGERALD |
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1959
RAY CHARLES |
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1961
THE CHARLIE BYRD QUARTET |
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19??
ETHEL MERMAN |
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1963
BEE GEES |
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1968
PRETTY PURDIE |
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1974
TERESA BREWER & GEORGE SEGAL |
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1974
THE BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA |
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1977
SAMMY DAVIS JR. |
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1978
ETHEL MERMAN (DISCO VERSION) |
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1987
LIZA MINNELLI |
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1989
JULIE ANDREWS |
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19??
BUDAPEST RAGTIME BAND |
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1995
FIVE FOOT TWO |
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1997
from the film TITANIC |
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19??
PAUL MAURIAT |
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20??
UNITED STATES FIELD ARMY BAND |
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20??
MOSCOW RAGTIME BAND |
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20??
MARTIN SHORT AND THE BOSTON POPS |
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2011
SWEET VALLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL |
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2015
HONOR CHORUS |
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2016
THE GRAND ANGUS |
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2016
ADAM SWANSON |
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2016
SETH SIKES |
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ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND
VERSE 1:
Oh, ma hon-ey, oh, ma hon-ey, bet-ter hur-ry and let's me-an-der
Ain't you go-in'? Ain't you go-in'? To the lea-der-man, rag-ged me-ter man?
Oh, ma hon-ey, oh, ma hon-ey, Let me take you to Al-ex-an-der's
Grand stand brass band, ain't you com-in' a-long?
CHORUS:
Come on and hear! Come on and hear! Al-ex-an-der's rag-time band!
Come on and hear! Come on and hear! It's the best band in the land!
They can play a bu-gle call like you nev-er heard be-fore
So nat-u-ral that you want to go to war
That's just the best-est band what am, ma hon-ey lamb
Come on a-long, come on a-long, let me take you by the hand
Up to the man, up to the man, who's the lead-er of the band
And if you care to hear the Swa-nee Riv-er played in rag-time
Come on and hear, come on and hear,
Al-ex-an-der's Rag-Time Band.
VERSE 2:
Come and listen to the wonderful sound, hear the music that is sweapin the town, You'll soon be
tappin your feet to a new kind of beat that keeps u happy all day long i love to her that banjo
strimmin eith to that bar, ragtime music is the greatest by far, so come and see, you'll soon agree
they are best in the land. Come on lets give em a hand
CHORUS:
Come on and hear! Come on and hear! Al-ex-an-der's rag-time band!
Come on and hear! Come on and hear! It's the best band in the land!
They can play a bu-gle call like you nev-er heard be-fore
So nat-u-ral that you want to go to war
That's just the best-est band what am, oh, ma hon-ey lamb
Come on a-long, come on a-long, let me take you by the hand
Up to the man, up to the man, who's the lead-er of the band
And if you care to hear the Swa-nee Riv-er played in rag-time
Come on and hear, come on and hear,
Al-ex-an-der's Rag-Time Band
VERSE 1:
Oh, ma hon-ey, oh, ma hon-ey, bet-ter hur-ry and let's me-an-der
Ain't you go-in'? Ain't you go-in'? To the lea-der-man, rag-ged me-ter man?
Oh, ma hon-ey, oh, ma hon-ey, Let me take you to Al-ex-an-der's
Grand stand brass band, ain't you com-in' a-long?
CHORUS:
Come on and hear! Come on and hear! Al-ex-an-der's rag-time band!
Come on and hear! Come on and hear! It's the best band in the land!
They can play a bu-gle call like you nev-er heard be-fore
So nat-u-ral that you want to go to war
That's just the best-est band what am, ma hon-ey lamb
Come on a-long, come on a-long, let me take you by the hand
Up to the man, up to the man, who's the lead-er of the band
And if you care to hear the Swa-nee Riv-er played in rag-time
Come on and hear, come on and hear,
Al-ex-an-der's Rag-Time Band.
VERSE 2:
Come and listen to the wonderful sound, hear the music that is sweapin the town, You'll soon be
tappin your feet to a new kind of beat that keeps u happy all day long i love to her that banjo
strimmin eith to that bar, ragtime music is the greatest by far, so come and see, you'll soon agree
they are best in the land. Come on lets give em a hand
CHORUS:
Come on and hear! Come on and hear! Al-ex-an-der's rag-time band!
Come on and hear! Come on and hear! It's the best band in the land!
They can play a bu-gle call like you nev-er heard be-fore
So nat-u-ral that you want to go to war
That's just the best-est band what am, oh, ma hon-ey lamb
Come on a-long, come on a-long, let me take you by the hand
Up to the man, up to the man, who's the lead-er of the band
And if you care to hear the Swa-nee Riv-er played in rag-time
Come on and hear, come on and hear,
Al-ex-an-der's Rag-Time Band
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