Alexander's Ragtime Band is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin
Alexander's Ragtime Band is a Tin PanAlley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911; it is ofteninaccurately cited as his first global hit. Despite its title, the song is amarch as opposed to a rag and contains little syncopation. The song is anarrative sequel to Berlin's earlier 1910 composition Alexander and hisClarinet. This earlier composition recounts the reconciliation between anAfrican-American musician named Alexander Adams and his flame Eliza Johnson aswell as highlights Alexander's innovative musical style. Berlin's friend JackAlexander, a cornet-playing African-American bandleader, inspired the titlecharacter. Emma Carus, a famous contralto renowned for her high lung power,introduced Berlin's song to the public in Spring 1911. Carus' brassyperformance of Alexander's Ragtime Band at the American Music Hall in Chicagoon April 18, 1911, electrified the audience and she toured other metropolisessuch as Detroit and New York City with acclaimed performances that featured thecatchy tune that contributed to its immense popularity.
