The first of three Omnibus films about the transatlantic take-over of our popular song and dance.
From Stephen Foster to Ragtime
From nowhere but the United
States could such have sprung. It is the music of the hustler and the feverishly active speculator.' That was how The Times described ' ragtime' which was sweeping through Britain in 1913: the latest in a long series of sensations from the USA. How were the Americans doing it? A key witness is 92-year-old pianist/composer Eubie Blake. At his home in New York, he demonstrates the syncopation that caused such an upheaval.
Narrator IAN HOLM
Dazzlingly rich in material (SUNDAY TIMES) Television documentary at its best
(NEW STATESMAN)
Fascinating, this surely is what ' educational' television is about
(MUSIC AND MUSICIANS)
Film editor PETER WEST
Written/produced by GEOFFREY HAYDON