by Joanne Garcia

Scott Joplin, a significant figure in America music history, known as the "King of Ragtime," created a unique American sound that paved the way for jazz.  Born into a musical family in eastern Texas, c. 1867, to Giles Joplin, a former slave, and Florence Givens, a free-born woman, Joplin lived his early years in Texarkana.

The second of six children, Joplin learned to play violin prior to piano.  His father, a railroad worker, was a violin player, and his mom, a house cleaner, sang and played banjo.  The family performed together in an ensemble.  Sadly, in the early 1880s, Giles Joplin left Florence to raise the children on her own.  Young Scott often accompanied his mother to work.  Oftentimes, the houses she cleaned had a piano, a very popular instrument at the time.  Scott was allowed to play these instruments while she cleaned, and it soon became apparent; he was musically gifted.  Julius Weiss, a German-Jewish immigrant who was more than familiar with discrimination, saw Scott’s talent and taught him for free. This early exposure to folk music, waltzes, reels as well as his early violin training contributed to his deep understanding of harmony and structure. 

Scott’s father wanted him to work on the railroad and young Scott initially did exactly that. Like his father, he became railroad laborer but soon left his job to pursue a life as a travelling musician.  He learned it was difficult to work, as there was much discrimination at the time.  Many black musicians worked in lower class establishments.  Scott Joplin played “jig-piano”, a type of improvised music with a peculiar, syncopated rhythm, from which ragtime evolved.   

Ragtime is an American musical genre characterized by its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm which developed in the 1890s, primarily in Missouri and Scott Joplin was a major contributor.  Ragtime is played at a very relaxed tempo, not fast, but lively.  In Joplin’s time, Missouri was a bustling state, on the Mississippi, a stop on the trail for pioneers venturing west.  Many hotels and saloons were established, and piano players could make a good living.  The goal of musicians was to have their music recognized, published, and sold so they could earn money from royalties.  Few musicians, especially black musicians, were able to achieve this due to discrimination and the fact that they tended to perform in less desirable venues.  Joplin was most fortunate and had several pieces published, including one of his most famous compositions, his first major success, “Maple Leaf Rag”.  (If you click this link, you will hear it performed on a 1915 piano.)   

Intense racial segregation existed during Joplin’s lifetime and African American music wasn’t considered to be as sophisticated and serious as pieces written by European composers.  His music was enjoyed by people from multiple cultural backgrounds and help demand respect for African American intellectualism.  This was truly ground-breaking at the time. 

Joplin spent a good part of his adult life composing, travelling, and performing.  He left Missouri for New York City in 1907 as he was seeking a publisher for his opera, Treemonisha, which was completed in 1910.  Joplin paid for a piano-vocal score to be published and sent a copy to the American Musician and Art Journal, and it received glowing reviews.  Oddly, this opera was never performed during his lifetime, and the original orchestrations have since been lost.  Besides a read through in 1915, and some excerpts in 1971, Treemonisha was unknown and not performed. 

Joplin’s later years were marred by misfortune.  He was married three times, lost an infant child, and suffered from disease which led to an early death, only 49, in 1917.  Sadly, he was buried in a pauper’s grave, at St. Michael’s Cemetery in East Elmhurst, NY.  A marker was finally added in 1974.

As for Treemonisha, it wasn’t until 1972 when composer TJ Anderson added orchestration and the opera had its world premiere.  In 1973, the multi-Academy award winning movie, “The Sting”, brought ragtime music back to the mainstream.  Each section of the story was preceded by a card, like those used in a silent film, and Joplin’s The Entertainer, was featured throughout the film.  Three years later, Joplin was awarded the Pulitzer Prize posthumously for his contribution to American music. 

Joplin overcame poverty and racial bias in post-Civil War America. Today, he is remembered as an innovative formal composer, a major influence on jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop culture and his work is studied in conservatories alongside the likes of Chopin and Bach.