Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin was an American ragtime musician and composer. He is widely considered the greatest ragtime composer of all time.

Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin in June 1903. This picture also appears on the cover of "The Cascades" from 1904.
Background information
Birth name	Scott Joplin
Also known as	King of Ragtime Writers
Born	c. late 1867 or early 1868 (death stone says 11-2-68) Northeast Texas, U.S.
Origin	Texarkana, Texas
Died	April 1, 1917 (aged 49) New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Ragtime, march, waltz
Occupation(s)	Composer, pianist, music teacher
Instruments	Piano, cornet, guitar, mandolin, violin, banjo, vocals
Years active	1895–1917

Early life

Joplin was African-American and born in the U.S. state of Texas sometime between June 1867 and January 1868 and grew up in Texarkana, Texas. His relatives were railroad workers. His father wanted him to find work that would pay. His mother said he should learn music. Even though he was from Texas, most of his pieces were written when he was in Missouri and New York City.

Musical career

Joplin is most well known for writing piano pieces called rags. His music became popular again in the 1970s, with the album Scott Joplin: Piano Rags, performed by Joshua Rifkin, from Nonesuch Records. He may be most commonly known now by the Marvin Hamlisch adaptation of his composition The Entertainer (1902) which was used in the 1973 movie The Sting starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. His best-known rag while he was alive was Maple Leaf Rag (1899). Other rags he wrote were The Ragtime Dance (1906) and Magnetic Rag (1914). Scott Joplin wrote more than 40 piano rags, but he also wrote two operas; A Guest of Honor and Treemonisha. A Guest of Honor was performed in Joplin's lifetime, but since then the music has been lost. Treemonisha was never performed while Joplin was alive, but it has been performed since then. Joplin also wrote a symphony, but the music has been lost.

Death

Joplin died of syphilis in New York City on April 1, 1917.

Scott Joplin Media

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  Front cover of the third edition of the "Maple Leaf Rag" sheet music with Joplin portrait

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  Scott Joplin House in St. Louis, Missouri

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  1903 Advertising poster for A Guest of Honor by Scott Joplin

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  Cover of "Bethena - A Concert Waltz", by the composer Scott Joplin. Published in the US in 1905, and believed to be Public Domain.

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  Scott Joplin sheet music cover for "Nonpareil"

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  Scott Joplin Memorial bench in St. Michaels Cemetery

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  Front cover of the "Wall Street Rag" (1909) sheet music

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  Cover of sheet music to the opera Treemonisha by Scott Joplin

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  A commemorative plaque to Joplin in Texas

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  Joplin's star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame

Bibliography

• Gildo De Stefano, Ragtime, jazz & dintorni. Preface by Amiri Baraka. SUGARCO Editions, Milano 2007 ISBN 978-88-7198-532-9