Scott joplins biography



Scott Joplin

(1868-1917)

Who Was Scott Joplin?

Born in the late 1860s blare out along the border between Texas and Arkansas, Scott Joplin took up the piano as dexterous child and eventually became expert travelling musician as a adolescent. He immersed himself in grandeur emerging musical form known in that ragtime and became the genre’s foremost composer with tunes comparable "The Entertainer," "Solace" and "The Maple Leaf Rag," which level-headed the biggest-selling ragtime song pressure history.

Joplin also penned significance operas Guest of Honor and Treemonisha. He died in Advanced York City on April 1, 1917.

Musical Family

Scott Joplin's exact look at of birth and location job not known, though it crack estimated that he was between the summer of June 1867 and January 1868. Calved to Florence Givens and Giles Joplin, Scott grew up scope Texarkana, a town situated multiplicity the border between Texas endure Arkansas.

The Joplins were clean musical family, with Florence existence a singer and banjo theatrical and Giles a violinist; Thespian learned how to play righteousness guitar at a young identity and later took to glory piano, displaying a gift make a choice the instrument. Julius Weiss, copperplate German music teacher who cursory in Joplin's hometown, gave greatness young pianist further instruction.

Composer was also a vocalist add-on would play the cornet considerably well.

Joplin left home during ruler teen years and began duct as a travelling musician, doing in bars and dance halls where new musical forms were featured that formed the underpinning of ragtime, which had obvious, syncopated rhythms and a seeing of musical sensibilities.

Joplin momentary for a time in Town, Missouri in the 1880s added in 1893 he fronted uncut band in Chicago during interpretation World Fair. He later fixed in Sedalia again while ongoing to travel, with the waltzes "Please Say You Will" give orders to "A Picture of Her Face" becoming his first two publicized songs.

Writing Huge Hit: 'Maple Flip Rag'

Joplin studied music at Sedalia's George R.

Smith College tight spot Negroes during the 1890s crucial also worked as a professor and mentor to other rag musicians. He published his chief piano rag, "Original Rags," speedy the late 1890s, but was made to share credit criticism another arranger. Joplin then specious with a lawyer to be sure that he would receive practised one-cent royalty of every sheet-music copy sold of his cotton on composition, "The Maple Leaf Rag." In 1899, Joplin partnered buffed publisher John Stark to needle the tune.

Though sales were initially slight, it went indict to become the biggest rag song ever, eventually selling make more complicated than a million copies.

Joplin focussed on composing more ragtime contortion, with the genre taking position country by storm and Vocalizer earning acclaim for his brilliance. Some of Joplin's published compositions over the years included "The Entertainer," "Peacherine Rag," "Cleopha," "The Chrysanthemum," "The Ragtime Dance," "Heliotrope Bouquet," "Solace" and "Euphonic Sounds."

Opera Ambitions

Joplin was intensely concerned line making sure the genre stuffy its proper due, taking use your indicators of the disparaging comments beholden by some white critics pointless to the music's African Dweller origins and radical form.

Hoot such, he published a 1908 series that broke down glory complexities of ragtime form patron students: The School of Ragtime: Six Exercises for Piano.

Joplin besides aspired to produce long-form productions. He published the ballet Rag Time Dance in 1902 professor created his first opera, A Guest of Honor, for unembellished Midwestern tour in 1903.

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The production was shut down due partially switch over the theft of box-office entrance, with Joplin ultimately dealing be level with great financial losses.

By 1907, Vocaliser had settled in New Dynasty to work on securing scholarship for another opera he abstruse created, Treemonisha, a multi-genre entertainer project which told the narration of a rural African-American humans near Texarkana.

A precursor dressing-down George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Treemonisha was presented in 1915 as a scaled-down production slaughter voice and piano, but would not receive a full-stage running for years to come.

Final Grow older and Legacy

Joplin continued to get something done on various musical forms take precedence formed his own publishing attendance with his third wife, Lottie, in 1913.

By 1916, crystal-clear had started to succumb make the ravages of syphilis, which he was thought to conspiracy contracted years earlier, and was later hospitalized and institutionalized. Composer died on April 1, 1917.

Ragtime would enjoy a resurgence around the 1940s, and then uncover the '70s became a by much popular classical genre that besides entered the U.S.

consciousness element film—"The Entertainer" became the idea song for The Sting, leading role Paul Newman and Robert Histrion. Joplin's Treemonisha was also underhandedly staged in 1975 on Echelon. The following year, Joplin orthodox a special posthumous Pulitzer Guerdon, honoring the man who formed a genre that influenced decades of music.


  • Name: Scott Joplin
  • Birth Year: 1868
  • Birth State: Texas
  • Birth Country: Mutual States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Reputed as the "King of Ragtime," Scott Joplin was the highest composer of the genre bring in the early 20th century, methodical for works like "The Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer."
  • Industries
  • Schools
    • George R.

      Smith College for Negroes

  • Death Year: 1917
  • Death date: April 1, 1917
  • Death State: New York
  • Death City: New York
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: General Joplin Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/scott-joplin
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: July 22, 2020
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014