Johnson scored with "The Charleston" and "If I Could Be With You". Eubie Blake, who is halfway between ragtime and stride piano, wrote "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Fats Waller became a famous pop culture Icon. Eventually some stride pieces were written down, however performances of any piece varied greatly from player to player, depending on his style of playing.

Stride piano sounded different. And it was. When these pianists were hired for "rent parties," they had to imitate a band. The pianist plays rhythm, harmony, melody and bass - the best James P. Johnson and Fats Waller recordings bear this out. Also, Luckey Roberts (the inventor of stride), who taught Gershwin and Johnson (and befriended Eubie Blake), recorded extensively.