Talk:Alexander's Ragtime Band

Separation

Shouldn't we separate this into two articles, one about the song and the other about the movie? --TonyM ^{ｷﾀ━( °∀° )━ｯ!!} 18:39, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

We can. If so, I think this article should be about the Irving Berlin tune (as that's the original meaning of the title), and the film split off to "Alexander's Ragtime Band (film)" -- Infrogmation 09:39, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree. The main article should be about the Irving Berlin song (which needs some extrapolation) and the film discussed as "Alexander's Ragtime Band" film (1928). Is there a way to differentiate the two with dates as well, like The Wizard of Oz?

Alexander's Ragtime Band (film) created.—Ketil Trout (^<><!) 20:19, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Jack Alexander

I made a private note some years ago that the song was inspired by a part-time jazz band leader named Jack Alexander (1884 - 1 July 1958). Any truth to this? -- JackofOz 07:12, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

According to my family lore, this is true. Jack Alexander was a friend of Irving Berlin and married his singer, my Great Grandmother's sister Dora Benjamin.

Plagiarism claim

If anyone's interested, here's GoogleBooks' preview of the page that is cited in this article about the Joplin plagiarism claim. Seems like a section about this would be due weight. Dan56 (talk) 23:33, 6 August 2013 (UTC)

Changing popular music ?

I just heard an interview on the radio - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04gqy6g - which asserted that this song changed popular music as it moved the beat from the previous 1 - 3 to the offbeat - 2 - 4. If so, that is worth noting. -- Beardo (talk) 16:32, 13 September 2014 (UTC)

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"Easter egg" links

The links to innuendo in the Lyrical Implications section don't comply with MOS:EASTEREGG and aren't corroborated by the Herder 1998 citation, violating the No original research policy. If there are reliable sources for the innuendo, is there a better way for us to convey it? If there are no sources, I'd suggest removing the links entirely. ElToAn123 (talk) 05:58, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

Hello, ElToAn123. Thank you for your message; I've removed the links. After I dig up the relevant sources, I'll rewrite that section in a more scholarly fashion. — Flask⚗️^(talk) 06:31, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

He's a Rag Picker lyrics

I am challenging the claim found in the section: Alleged plagiarism that states: "The song features a verse in which a "black character" named Mose claims authorship of "Alexander's Ragtime Band." 1. The lyrics (here: He's a Rag Picker) do not even hint upon this claim. 2. The source provided Hamm 2012, p. 47. does not state this either. There is a correlation between the character of Moses between Berlin's songs: (He's a Rag Picker, That Humming Rag). What actually occurs is that the Peerless Quartet in 1914 released a recording and added "spoken dialogue": "Can you play Alexander's Ragtime Band? (Mose) Why sure, I'm de man who wrote it!" (page 112); YouTube recording . But it is not a "verse"; nor does the song feature it in print. Only on this 1914 recording. Maineartists (talk) 13:31, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for catching those errors! I corrected that paragraph. — Flask⚗️^(talk) 16:38, 10 April 2026 (UTC)