>

Scott Joplin

The King of Ragtime.

Founded

c. 1868 in Texas

Full Name

Date of Birth

c. 1868 in Texas

Still Alive

Date of Death

April 1, 1917 in New York City

Influenced By

Plantation songs or "hollers", spirituals, European classical music

Later Influenced

Almost every jazz pianist to follow, Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky

Scott Joplin (left), Sheet music for his composition "The Favorite" (right)

About The artist

A true innovator, Joplin recognized his music was ahead of his time. "When I'm dead twenty-five years, people are going to recognize me," he told a friend.

Did you know...

Joplin's composition "The Entertainer" was used as the theme for the 1973-Oscar winning film The Sting. Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation reach No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart.