451 Arthur Collins (1864-1933) and Byron Harlan (1861-1936) “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” 1911

Irving Berlin (1888-1989) was at first astonished at the song’s popularity. “The trick, unconsciously played, was in capturing a nervous restlessness that was in the air, a dancing virus…It was, in fact, a clarion-call summons to everybody to come take part in some twentieth-century fun. A similar summons became the anthem of 1950s youth when rock&roll arrived: Bill Haley, the square-dance caller instructing his hon’ to get her glad rags on and ‘Rock Around the Clock’” (Ian Whitcomb, Irving Berlin and Ragtime America, 1988). Collins and Harlon were popular duet singers, noted for their vaudeville and minstrel show performances. 

Arthur Collins and Byron Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”