Scott Joplin: The King of Ragtime
Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the “King of Ragtime,” he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas, establishing ragtime as a serious musical form worthy of concert halls rather than saloons.
Early Life and Education
Joplin was the second of six children born to Giles Joplin, a former slave from North Carolina, and Florence Givens, a freeborn African-American woman from Kentucky. His exact birthplace remains disputed among biographers, with some placing it in Texarkana and others citing earlier census records locating him in Linden, Texas. By 1880, the family had settled in Texarkana, Arkansas, where his father worked as a railroad laborer and his mother as a cleaner.
Music ran through the family. Joplin’s father had played violin for plantation parties in North Carolina, and his mother sang and played banjo. From age seven, Joplin was allowed to play piano while his mother worked. At 16, he performed in a vocal quartet and taught guitar and mandolin to others in the area. His most formative influence came from Julius Weiss, a German-born Jewish music professor who taught him free of charge from age 11 to 16. Weiss introduced Joplin to folk and classical music, including opera, and helped him understand music as “art as well as an entertainment.” In his later years, after achieving fame, Joplin sent his former teacher gifts of money until Weiss’s death.
Career and Achievements
In the late 1880s, Joplin left Texarkana to become a traveling musician throughout the American South. Work was scarce for black pianists; churches and brothels offered among the few steady employment options. He played pre-ragtime “jig-piano” in red-light districts across the mid-South during this period.
In 1893, Joplin traveled to Chicago for the World’s Fair, where he formed a band in which he played cornet and arranged music. The exposition, attended by 27 million visitors, had a profound effect on American cultural life, including ragtime. By 1897, ragtime had become a national craze. Joplin moved to Sedalia, Missouri, in 1894 and worked as a piano teacher while beginning to publish music in 1895. His “Maple Leaf Rag,” published in 1899, became the genre’s first and most influential hit and brought him fame and steady income. In 1901, Joplin relocated to St. Louis. Two years later, he scored his first opera, “A Guest of Honor,” though it was confiscated for non-payment of bills and is now lost. Joplin moved to New York City in 1907 in an unsuccessful attempt to find a producer for a new opera.
Notable Events and Milestones
The publication of “Maple Leaf Rag” in 1899 marked a turning point in Joplin’s career and in ragtime itself. The piece became the quintessential rag and established Joplin’s reputation as a composer. Joplin viewed ragtime as a form of classical music meant for concert halls, a perspective that set him apart from performers who played ragtime in saloons and honky tonks.
In 1916, Joplin descended into dementia from neurosyphilis, marking the beginning of his final decline. His death on April 1, 1917, is historically marked as the end of the “Ragtime era.”
Awards and Honors
Joplin’s music faded from popular memory after his death but was rediscovered in the early 1970s with the release of “Scott Joplin: Piano Rags,” a million-selling album recorded by Joshua Rifkin. The 1973 film “The Sting,” which featured several of Joplin’s compositions, won the Academy Award and further revived interest in his work. His second opera, “Treemonisha,” was produced in 1972. In 1976, Joplin was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize, recognizing his lasting contribution to American music.
Additional Resources
Scott Joplin’s life and legacy continue to fascinate musicians and historians. Readers seeking deeper exploration of his compositions, the cultural context of ragtime, and the circumstances of his life can find extensive biographical information through Wikipedia and other music history archives.
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