Can't get any more blacker than that.:)  Ernest Hogan- Ragtime Originator   Scott Joplin- King of Ragtime [IMG]  [/IMG]  Bubby Bolden [IMG]  [/IMG] Ernest Hogan is not the inventor of ragtime:rolleyes:         Just before the turn of the century, there is a group of brilliant composers/performers, some in Sedalia, MO and in other areas, writing music that was called 'Rags'. The Rag form became associated with such men as: James Scott; Joseph Lamb; Louis Chauvin; Tom Turpin and, of course, Scott Joplin.  The first true Rag was published in 1897, Mississippi Rag, by William H. Krell, -a White man. In the same year, Tom Turpin was the first Black man to have his Rag published, Harlem Rag.  But, it was Scott Joplin's 'Maple Leaf Rag', and his other Rags, that defined an era lasting for 2 decades - up to 1917. The contribution of these composers was the realization that one could modulate the melody of a song to produce something quite different from what folks had been hearing. By placing pauses in out of the way places, the melody became, -Ragged, and so this music came to be known as Rag. People got used to dancing to the music of just the piano, and maybe a rhythm section - sometimes of just drums.    Ragtime is a peculiar word. It seems to mean different things to different people. And, it has a history that stretches from about 1850 to 1940. Older musicians, -those who lived at the turn of the 20th century, have stated that the music they were playing was called ragtime even then.    However, I would like to point out that Rags are distinguished by a steady Duple rhythm played with the left hand, while it is the melody that is modulated. The Time is absolutely steady! It's the Melody that is 'raggedy'.  Ragtime is music that comes down from the history of the U.S.A. It referred to the breaking up of the _melody_ of a song by syncopating it. One can see such irregular 'phrasing' in the lyric of Johnson and Coles' Under the Bamboo Tree, - If You Lak-a Me, Like I Lak-a You. Here, the extra a's are added to syncopate the melody. It is interesting to note that publisher,  Neil Moret , was greatly responsible for promoting the popularity of the early 'Rags'.        ORIGIN OF RAGTIME     No one today can say with any accuracy as to when, where, or under what circumstances Ragtime began, nor how the name originated.     In regard to the origin of the music there are many theories. One view contends that Ragtime syncopation first appeared in the classical works of the American composer, Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869). Others maintain that the music emerged from the minstrel show circuit, and thus was originally a vocal form. Another opinion is that Ragtime developed on the heels of the Cakewalk, and was primarily dance music. The term Ragtime is equally obscure. It is said that the syncopated or ragged melody line gave rise to the term. Another view is that the music was first played by itinerant bands dressed in ragged clothing and the music was thus identified as rag music and subsequently as ragtime. Another opinion is that Ragtime was actually a dance form, known first as jig music and later as ragtime.  