Little Black Baby (1903) Scott Joplin & Louise Bristol (With Score / Sheet Music)

Details

Description

Despite being a composer & songwriter himself, Scott Joplin would also on occasion take up commissioned work & collaborations with his counterparts from time to time throughout his years, with "Little Black Baby" being one of the earliest of examples. Mrs. Louise Bristol, the lyricist of the work, was a poet living in the Chicago area during the same period the piece was assembled & composed. How she got hooked up with Joplin has been left to be unknown or unverified, but it may have been via a recommendation by a publisher or a mutual friend.

Speculation may lead one to believe that somebody in the chain thought a black composer would do more justice to the lyrical content of the piece, or simply give it some credence, thus leading Joplin to have made a very good choice among other composers that were available. (For example, his lyrical arrangements for "The Ragtime Dance.") His name recognition was likely not a factor since he is not even mentioned on the cover, although he did receive musical credit on the inside. Yet it could also cast Joplin more in the role as the arranger for a tune that Mrs. Bristol submitted rather than its sole composer entirely.

Nonetheless, "Little Black Baby" comes around to be quite a delightful non-syncopated melody that seemed destined for home consumption, and comes across as a lullaby sung by a mammy to her little child. In spite of the use of Afro-dialect (and typical baby talk), the lyrics themselves are a far cry from the offensive content of the ever popular coon songs during the time, with the work surprisingly becoming a favorite amongst the early Ragtime Revival of the 70's and far off.
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"Little Black Baby" - Ragtime Era Song - Pattern: Intro Vs1 Ch1 Vs2 Ch2
Music by Scott Joplin with lyrics by Louise Bristol, Published by Success Music Company in 1903
Cover Artist: Unknown

Music description provided & written by Bill Edwards, learn more about it here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220308214107/http://ragpiano.com/pbmusic_joplin1.shtml

Music performed by Guido Nielsen with his album "Scott Joplin: The Complete Works (Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs)"

℗ 2000 Basta Audio-Visuals
Producer: Piet Schreuders
Music Publisher: Basta Music
Performer: Guido Nielsen