Bridgeport Rag

Rob needed a ragtime "old-timey" piece to use in his documentary about the Bridgeport General, so I whipped this little number together. This rag is now the unofficial theme song for the Old Village of Bridgeport, published early to promote fundraising for the film.

The cover art was illustrated by me, just a sharpie on a 8.5"x11" page, intended to evoke the style of early printed rags of the 1910's, by artists like Scott Joplin and Irving Berlin. Sometimes the sheet music would feature a photograph; these couldn't be printed (most of the printings were one ink colour), so a blank spot was left in the layout and a photograph was glued to it. You can occasionally find examples like this in vintage antique and thrift shops.

This piece was premiered by Jason White in 2015. Nestled in the melody is a little quote from "O Canada", a reference to the rag's Canadian subject, but also to the ubiquity of military and patriotic music that was prevalent in the period.

The bridge pictured on the cover is the iconic bridge across the Grand River at Bridgeport.