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Ragtime Music in Canada

By Ted Tjaden

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Canada played an important role with the revival of ragtime in the 1960's primarily through the efforts of people like Ragtime Bob Darch (resident in Toronto as a performer at Club 76), John Arpin, and The Canadian Ragtime Society. At around the same time, with the publication of They All Played Ragtime (Blesh and Janis 1966), ragtime music was well on its way to not only being revived but thoroughly reinvigorated (for more on ragtime revival in the United States, see John Edward Hasse, Rolex Replica "Rudi Blesh and the Ragtime Revivalists" (Hasse 1985:178) and Bill Edwards, "An Essay on the Core of the First Ragtime Revival"). For many baby boomers, however, myself included, ragtime awareness came later with the ragtime soundtrack to the movie The Sting in 1973. In this section, I briefly review the ragtime revival in Canada starting first with the important role played by The Ragtime Society and its newsletter, The Ragtimer (1962-1985), followed by brief profiles of a number of influential Canadian (and American) ragtime enthusiasts who have played important roles with the revival of ragtime in Canada.

5.1)   The Ragtime Society and The Ragtimer
5.2)   John Arpin
5.3)   Mimi Blais
5.4)   Eubie Blake
5.5)   "Ragtime Bob" Darch
5.6)   Lou Hooper
5.7)   Austin Kitchen
5.8)   David Lee

5.1)   The Ragtime Society and The Ragtimer  [top]

Ragtime music in Canada never really died out among its main enthusiasts and it could be argued that Canada played an integral role in reviving ragtime music in the late 1950s. At that time (in 1959), Ragtime Bob Darch arrived in Toronto with his Cornish Upright Grand Five Pedal Saloon Piano and was a regular performer at Club 76 on St Clair St West in Toronto, Ontario. Darch was instrumental in raising funds to arrange for Joseph Lamb to come to Toronto that year for a tribute and a performance: The October 3, 1959, edition of the Globe & Mail (page 16) describes Darch's fundraising to bring Joseph Lamb and his wife to Toronto, mentioning a promise of Club 76 to pay into a United Appeal Fund $2 for every $1 collected. Important ragtime performers, including Eubie Blake, Max Morath and Johhny Maddox, all performed at some point at Club 76. An ad for Club 76 in the January 30, 1961, Globe & Mail advertised that Max Morath was now in his 3rd week at the club and that Johhny (Crazy Otto) Maddox would be coming soon!

The Society's first newsletter was published in February 1962 and its first sentence announced: "It is very gratifying to find so many Canadians and Americans interested in Classic Ragtime."

On May 4, 1962, a memorial concert was organized for Joseph Lamb at Massey Hall in Toronto with Robert Darch and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with more than 2,500 persons in attendance.

Some of the early activities of the Society included sourcing hard to find rags, producing a number of ragtime records under the Scroll label and organizing annual "bashes" at which members and invited guests entertained with ragtime music. In 1964, the Society arranged for a limited edition reprinting of Scott Joplin's ragtime opera Treemonisha. Also in 1964 was the Society's first of many annual bashes. The bashes were energetic affairs with numerous performers. The November/December 1976 edition of The Ragtimer, for example, lists only some of the performers as including William Bolcolm and Joan Morris, Terry Waldo, Tex Wyndham, Eubie Blake (age 93), John Arpin, Lou Hooper, and The Canadian Brass, with Amelia Lamb and Joe Lamb Jr as guests. The program notes indicate that performances, of which there were over 45, went from 3 pm to past midnight.

5.2)   John Arpin [top]

John Arpin (born December 3, 1936, died November 8, 2007) was one of Canada's most renown pianists with a constant repertoire of classic ragtime piano in addition to a variety of other musical styles. From his official online biography (an archived version of which is available here), we learn that he was born in Port McNicoll, Ontario, and graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music at the tender age of 16. Although Arpin then attended the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, he abandoned the academic experience in favour of performing at various local establishments and conducting a choir. According to his biography, Arpin "could also be found on the concert stage accompanying an opera singer, or performing turn-of-the-century music by Canadian composers on radio." He has recorded numerous CDs, including a number of ragtime CDs. One of his more recent recordings is the wonderful "Blue Gardenia" featuring the Latin American music of Hal Isbitz (highly recommended).

5.3)   Mimi Blais [top]

5.4)   Eubie Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) [top]

Eubie Blake is a legendary ragtime composer and performer. Although an American citizen, he deserves mention in this essay on the ragtime revival in Canada due to his numerous performances here in various clubs and at annual "bashes" of the Canadian Ragtime Society. The January/February 1974 edition of The Ragtimer, for example, describes at page 17 the first appearance of Ragtime Bob Darch and Eubie appearing together in Canada on October 12, 1973, at York University, as also evidenced by the poster below from the Maryland Historical Society.

Left: Poster advertising performances by Ragtime Bob Darch and Eubie on October 12, 1973, at York University, in Toronto, Canada.

5.5)   "Ragtime Bob" Darch [top]

Darch was known for promoting ragtime through his playing in saloons and any venue where he could play ragtime.

Left: Newspaper Ad for "Club 76" in Toronto from the June 7, 1962, Globe & Mail mentioning one of "Ragtime Bob" Darch's many appearances at Club 76.

Known for his "Five Pedal Cornish Upright Saloon Grand Piano," Darch was not only a ragtime player but also a composer and researcher. Here is a picture of Darch standing next to his famous piano with a note on the photo from Eubie Blake saying "Ragtime Bob Darch 1959 He's one great Ragtime Pianist of his time. E.B."

Left: Photo of "Ragtime Bob" Darch next to his piano (circa 1959) from the Maryland Historical Society, Eubie Blake Collection.

Well-known ragtimer, Ian Whitcomb, has a nice online article entitled "Bob Darch: My Adventures with the Great Man."

5.7)   Austin Kitchen [top]

5.8)   David Lee (Born: Hamilton, ON: 10 November 1934 – 22 January 2019) [top]

My first five compositions — Scotty Dog Rag, Pussy Cat Rag, Tough Bananas, Pumpkin Pie, and Salad Dressing — followed the traditional classic rag formula with their themes arranged A-A, B-B, A, C-C, D-D. They are interesting from a musical was well as an academic point of view, but the inherent repetitions in all rags make listening to a seemingly endless succession of classic rags quite tedious, with a bewildering confusion of music which "all sounds the same". Someone said that the rhythms and dynamics of ragtime form the basis of all music written since 1900  —  or, in other words, ragtime was absorbed by, or developed into, present day music. With this in mind, I composed one with a Latin rhythm (RAG-A-MA-TANGO), a waltz (EUPHORIA), and two swing rags (THE SWINGER) and (SMOOTH MOVES). Again, following Scott Joplin's admonition that "it is never right to play ragtime fast", I reasoned that a slow, mood rag with emphasis on the melodic line and expression would produce a nice contrast to the more usual metronomic rhythm. Thus came LULLABY RAG. Although its form is still classic, it is played in "dream" tempo. My most recent work is SWAGGERIN' and it is a return to the rhythms normally associated with ragtime, but its notation is much more simple than in some of the others.

My objective in recording this collection was to attempt to share with you the rich, rhythmic, syncopated compositions which I've been delighted to discover. If, by listening to this album, you derive even a fraction of the pleasure I've had in composing and playing my rags, my efforts will, indeed, be well rewarded.

• Pussy Cat Rag. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1975.
• Euphoria: A Rag Waltz Piano Solo. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1977.
• Scotty Dog Rag. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1975.
• Pumpkin Pie: A Rag Piano Solo. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1975.
• Tough Bananas: A Rag Piano Solo. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1975.
• Salad Dressing: A Rag Piano Solo. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1975. 
• Lullaby Rag. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1976.
• Rag-a-Ma-Tango: Piano Solo. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1976.
• Smooth Moves: A Swing Rag Piano Solo. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1976.
• The Swinger: A Modern Rag Piano Solo. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1976.
• Swaggerin': A Rag Piano Solo. Dundas, ON: Dun-Val Music Publishers, 1977.

In the next chapter, I have included .mp3 recordings of selected Canadian ragtime music.

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This site created by Ted Tjaden. Page last updated: January 2022.