The band played light, cheerful music as the ship sank. There were actually two bands on Titanic , the standard 5-piece group, plus a special 3-piece string ensemble (violin, cello and piano) that played in the reception room outside the Palm Court and Cafe Parisien. The musicians were technically traveling as second class passengers - the bizarre result of a labor dispute - but they were effectively members of the crew. At the Captain's request, the musicians assembled on deck and played upbeat music to help keep people calm and avert panic as the lifeboats were being loaded. Two of the popular tunes recalled by survivors were "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and "Autumn." Numerous people recounted that the band played until very shortly before the ship went down, although one survivor, Col. Archibald Gracie, said they laid down their instruments at about 1:50 AM. None of the musicians survived the tragedy.

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