An entire page is devoted to the conflicting information about Joplin’s date and place of birth. The origins of titles of pieces are ascertained attributions of collaborative compositions are sorted out and the chapter called “Freddie, 1904” tells of the existence of a previously unknown second wife. The specialists will be richly rewarded as well. They may be surprised to find that, in spite of the advanced level of difficulty of his piano pieces, Joplin himself was not always highly regarded as a pianist. Some know Joplin only as the composer of “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag” they may even have heard his opera “Treemonisha.” These readers will be fascinated to learn about Irving Berlin’s alleged plagiarism of a tune from “Treemonisha” in his “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” about Joplin’s first opera, “A Guest of Honor” and about the origin of the terms “ragtime” and “Tin Pan Alley.” The chapter called “The Maple Leaf Rag, 1899-1900” will engross them with its step-by-step recounting of the creation, publication, and sensational reception of Joplin’s signature piece. As such, “King of Ragtime” represents the best available current knowledge of this subject.

Much has been added to what was known about Joplin since their book appeared, but Berlin’s own investigations have yielded a significant wealth of new material. He honors the accomplishments of Blesh and Janis but points out that they were untrained in formal historical research. Berlin makes clear the necessity of producing a new biography of Joplin. In his preface to “King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era”, author Edward A. Contributing to this momentum was the 1950 publication of Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis’ book, “They All Played Ragtime.” This was the first biography of Joplin, and was accepted as the definitive text on its subject.

Its revival commenced in the 1940’s and gathered a momentum that peaked in the 1970’s, establishing its solid place in the repertoire. Ragtime fell into obscurity with the advent of World War I and with new developments in jazz forms. After the publication of “Maple Leaf Rag” he became known for the rest of his life as “The King of Ragtime.” The unprecedented standard of excellence that he set and maintained earned ragtime world-wide renown. Scott Joplin was a quiet, serious man who composed some of the liveliest, happiest music ever written.

King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era The following book review by Jeffrey Chappell appeared in Piano & Keyboard Magazine, November/December 1994 issue.

King of ragtime