Scott Joplin - Swipesy Cakewalk

Style: Rag
Year: 1900
Form: Intro A A B B A C C D D
Keys: Bb/Bb/Bb/Eb/Bb
Notes: With Arthur Marshall

"The only published output with Joplin's name on it in 1900 was this piece co-written with his protégé, Arthur Marshall, possibly even before Maple Leaf Rag, but that is difficult to determine. Although it is labeled as a cakewalk, there is more than enough syncopation in it to consider it as a rag. The A section provides contrast in the left hand, with the oom-pah pattern interrupted by repeated chords, a device later used in some Joplin trios. The B section is simple, and more cakewalk-like in nature. The trio is very much Joplin in content, and likely his largest contribution. It has a very well developed melody line and chord progression, echoing elements of Marshall's motifs in earlier sections. The D section reverts back to the original key, and provides a great opportunity for left hand expansion and even a little stride piano. The title was possibly contributed by publisher John Stark, who said that the boy pictured on the original cover "looked like he just swiped something." His daughter suggested that it may have also been the result of an altercation between two young black boys taking a swipe at each other outside the music store as they were thinking on a name.
As suggested by researcher Bryan Cather, the pictures of Joplin and Marshall on the original cover may be taken from a yearbook of the George R. Smith college that both had attended. The removal of their pictures from the cover coincided with the removal of Joplin's image from the Maple Leaf Rag cover, possibly motivated by the sad reality that sales in certain areas of the country might go better if the race of the composers was not as evident. Swipesy was soon featured, at least according to an alternate cover, by the white vaudeville team of Benson and Hart. A rare comic cover from possibly 1902, given the Stark logo used at that time, represents, less than tactfully, the concept of the name, with a little black boy trying to swipe a bite of somebody's banana. It may have simply been a St. Louis circulation, not widely distributed. The more common alternate cover went back to the original picture with a more floral design. The Swipesy Stomp version included here is an extended take that has more of a "Jelly Roll" Morton vibe to it, showing just how malleable the original work was." (from ragpiano.com)

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