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"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is a song by Irving Berlin. It was his first major hit, in 1911. It might be regarded as a sequel to "Alexander and His Clarinet," which Berlin wrote with Ted Snyder in 1910. The earlier song is mostly concerned with a reconciliation between Alexander Adams and Eliza Johnson, but also highlights Alexander's novel musical style. It is believed by some (especially jazz/ragtime circles in New Orleans, and the Watzke family of New Orleans), that Berlin was writing about a real band and bandleader, who were popular at the time in New Orleans, and actually was known as Alexander's Ragtime Band, after its leader, Alexander Constantin Watzke, Jr. (also known as "King" Watzke or Alex Watzke). From 1904 to 1911 or later, this band was one of the most popular white ragtime and jazz bands in New Orleans.,〔See also Wikipedia article "Alex Watzke" or "King Watzke" This information is a long-standing oral tradition in the Watzke family of New Orleans. Refer also to the family genealogy websites www.watzkeandduncan.tripod.com and www.david.watzke.tripod.com〕〔Hardie, Daniel (2002), Exploring Early Jazz: The Origin and Evolution of the New Orleans Jazz Style, Writers Club Press, pp 178-9, available on Google Books.〕 ==Lyrics== Both songs employ certain word choices ("oh, ma honey," "honey lamb") and nonstandard usage ("bestest band what am") in the lyrics to indicate to the audiences of the time that the characters of the song should be understood to be African-American. Although, the sheet music cover clearly shows the musicians as being white, as Alexander Watzke's band was. Furthermore, when the song became the basis for a movie, the band leader and members were depicted as white, although the real name and city were inexplicably changed. The often-omitted second verse describes Alexander's band's nonstandard use of traditional instruments: :There's a fiddle with notes that screeches :Like a chicken, like a chicken, :And the clarinet is a colored pet In fact, Alexander Watzke the bandleader did play the fiddle, or the bass viol, and there was always at least one clarinet player in the band, oftentimes Larry Shields.〔See Hardie, Daniel, op.cit.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alexander's Ragtime Band」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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