The “ragtime revival” started with Wally Rose’s surprise hit recording, in December 1941, of George Botsford’s “Black And White Rag.” At that time, there was little ragtime sheet music on the commercial market, there were no ragtime societies, festivals or concerts, and any rags played professionally were tossed in as throwaways by pianists in local taverns.
For some years thereafter, ragtime was supported by a small handful of pianists who occasionally got some radio play for their recordings, or, like Bob Darch, traveled a barroom circuit. The list consisted, pretty much, of Rose, Darch, Joe “Fingers” Carr (Lou Busch), and Johnny Maddox.
Then along came Max Morath. Max had been playing ragtime in his native Colorado when he decided that he wanted to play ragtime as a full-time profession. He told me that, at that time, he realized that, if he was going to do so, he needed to find a way to make a living out of ragtime that would be more lucrative and dependable than local saloon gigs.
Gifted with an excellent business sense and a thorough grasp of showmanship, Max brought ragtime to the general public in a less casual manner than his contemporaries. His two NET TV series, The Ragtime Era and The Turn Of The Century, not only reached a broader audience for ragtime than anything else up to that time, but also put ragtime in its proper perspective as a worthwhile and
