Scott Joplin: King of Ragtime
Master of Classic Rags and Early Jazz - Syncopated, Off-Beat Rhythm
Brief biography of Scott Joplin, 'The King of Ragtime' in later 19th-Century. Famous for 'The Entertainer' piano music - used in the blockbuster movie 'The Sting.'
Scott Joplin, American black jazz composer and pianist, dubbed 'The King of Ragtime,' made his name after the publication of his 'Maple Leaf Rag' for piano, which sold over a million copies.
His music “Piano Rags” particularly 'The Entertainer,' with film arrangement of Marvin Hamlisch, has been popular as the main theme to the 1973 blockbuster film “Sting.” He was among the first black composers to have his works published.
Joplin's Early Life
Joplin, was born in Texas on November 24, 1868. He was the son of a former slave, however, both parents were musically talented, and from them he got his first piano lessons. At 15, he left home to pay his way playing in bars and brothels.
Some years later, in 1893, he was becoming known, enough to play at the Chicago World’s Fair. He set up his first band. Two years later, he studied music at George Smith College for Negroes in Missouri.
Joplin's Career
In 1899, his bestseller Maple Leaf Rag was published.
Scott Joplin published many rags, including the acclaimed 'The Entertainer' and the 'The Ragtime Dance' and later produced more extended compositions. Some of those he published were collaborative.
The Entertainer ragtime piece became extremely famous in 1973, for its arrangement by composer Marvin Hamlisch in the blockbuster film "The Sting" starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The story is about two con men who avenge the death of their friend on a gangster. The film won an Academy award-winning score in music.
In 1903 he formed the Scott Joplin Ragtime Opera company, initially to stage his opera A Guest of Honor. He settled in New York City in 1907, where he also started work on his opera Treemonisha. This was not successful in his lifetime.
He died severely depressed in 1972, aged 50, when another jazz great Duke Ellington was 18 years old. The same year after Joplin's death, Treemonisha was revived.
Major Awards
- Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970
- Pulitzer Prize award for music in 1976, Posthumous.
Scott Joplin goes down in musical history as a jazz composer with his reputation resting on classic rags, paving the way for early jazz.
Scott Joplin's Major Works
- Maple Leaf Rag, for piano 1899
- The Entertainer and Elite Syncopations, for piano 1902
- A Guest of Honor, opera 1903
- The Ragtime Dance, for piano 1906
- Pine Apple Rag, for piano 1908
- Wall Street Rag, for piano 1909
- Treemonisha, opera 1916
Sources
The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan (2000)
A-Z of Music, Card Series (editor unspecified), International Masters Publishers (1996)
