In 1899, Joplin sold what would become one of his most famous pieces, "Maple Leaf Rag", to John Stark & Son, a Sedalia music publisher. The other five were "Please Say You Will", "A Picture of Her Face", two marches, and a waltz. Of the six, only "Original Rags", a compilation of existing melodies that he wrote collaboratively, is a ragtime piece. In 1895, Joplin was in Syracuse, selling two songs, "Please Say You Will" and "A Picture of Her Face".ĭespite all his traveling, Joplin's home was in Sedalia, to which he moved in 1894, working as a pianist in the Maple Leaf and the Black 400, social clubs for "respectable gentlemen".īy 1898 Joplin had sold six pieces for the piano. He was part of a minstrel troupe in Texarkana about 1891. After organizing The Texas Medley Quartette, he helped them to sing their way to, and back from, Syracuse, New York. In the Queen City Concert Band, he played first cornet. He may have joined or formed various quartets and other musical groups and traveled around the Midwest to sing. Smith College in Sedalia, Missouri, studying music theory, harmony, and composition.īy the late 1880s, Scott Joplin had left home to start a life of his own. He would later further his musical education by attending George R. At the 1893 World's Fair, in Chicago, Illinois, he heard the latest music, including the concert band of John Phillip Sousa, who played there daily. Showing musical ability at an early age, the young Joplin received free piano lessons from a German music teacher, Julius Weiss, who gave him a well rounded knowledge of classical music form, which would serve him well in later years and fuel his ambition to create a "classical" form of ragtime. By 1882 his mother had purchased a piano. For many years, his birthdate was thought to be Novembut research by ragtime historian Ed Berlin has revealed this is inaccurate.Īfter 1871, the Joplin family moved to Texarkana, Texas, and Scott's mother cleaned homes so Scott could have a place to practice his music. Scott Joplin, the second of six children, was born in eastern Texas, near Linden, to Florence Givins and Giles or Jiles Joplin. He remains the best-known ragtime figure and is regarded as one of the three most important composers of classic ragtime, along with James Scott and Joseph Lamb. Make time to listen to his music if you have not and see for yourself just how wonderful his compositions happen to be.Scott Joplin (born between June 1867 and January 1868, died April 1, 1917) was an American musician and composer of ragtime music. Scott Joplin was an amazing musician with a talent that is rarely seen in this world. To make sure he got the most out of future works, he would go on to form his own publishing company in 1913 with his third wife. It sold 1 million copies, so 1 million pennies at the time was a good sum of money. Joplin only received one penny as a royalty for his most famous work. His influence has literally shaped almost a century of music to this point. His musical genre has seen two large periods of resurgence, in the 40s and the 70s, and this led to him being awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize almost 60 years after he passed away. Joplin died in 1917 from complications due to syphilis. If that theft had not occurred, Joplin may have been remembered as the greatest musician of all time. The receipts were stolen, however, and this eventually caused the production to shut down. He wrote a ballet and created his first opera, both of which were seeing some good box office successes. He would also play other dance styles based on the location, which is why his first two published compositions are actually waltzes.ġ902 was an important year for Joplin. Many of the venues where he played had dance areas and ragtime let people come out to the floor and have a good time. It is here that he developed the entertaining ragtime style, almost out of necessity. Scott Joplin left home as a teenager to begin touring as a musician. Joplin himself learned the guitar as his first instrument. His family was talented musically, with his parents playing the violin and banjo. What many do not realize is that this talented musician also created two operas: Treemonisha and Guest of Honor. Joplin might be known for his ragtime, including penning the best-selling ragtime hit of all time. If you’ve heard pieces like The Entertainer or The Maple Leaf Rag, then you’ve heard Joplin’s work. What we do have on tape of this amazing musician and entertainer comes from his live performances. That’s pretty impressive considering Joplin never made any recordings of his work. As a composer, Scott Joplin is often referred to as being the King of Ragtime.
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