That International Rag - Reception

Reception

Berlin's performance at the song's debut softened the impression that his initial press conference had given, and it settled some of the doubts about his musical talent.

Berlin's performance at the Hippodrome later that day caught both British audiences and critics by surprise. They had expected heavy, bombastic fare in their own music hall tradition; such was the treatment Berlin's own hits were accorded by English performers. Yet the songwriter's performance was by comparison muted and modest; it did not call to mind skyscrapers, grain elevators, and quick-buck artists. With the imperturbable Cliff Hess accompanying him, Berlin sang 'The International Rag' and all the other hits for which he was known abroad: 'Alexander's Ragtime Band', 'Everybody's Doin' It', and 'When I Lost You'. If his voice was weak, his timing and diction were, as always, impeccable; his sense of conviction was unassailable. —Laurence Bergreen, As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin

Sophie Tucker introduced the song to vaudeville, and the Victor Military Band saw success with an early recording. In 1938 "That International Rag" appeared as a number in the Twentieth Century Fox film Alexander's Ragtime Band. It was also used in the 1948 MGM film Easter Parade, and in 1953's Call Me Madam.

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