The rag “Creole Belles” was the second big hit in ragtime after Scott Joplin's “Maple Leaf Rag” from 1899; the sheet music sold millions of copies. The title was recorded several times by various well-known orchestras and was considered an evergreen until the Dixieland era of the 1950s. The melody from the B section of the piece was varied and used in other dances of the time, most notably in the rag “Rubber Dolly.”
For the “Rubber Dolly” rag and all subsequent titles, the B section was combined with a nursery rhyme from the late 19th century.