The light-hearted nature of the music and compelling tune has made this rag amongst the favourite of all Joplin’s oeuvre. This is not a simple piece to play as like most Rags, uses a stride, a left-hand piano technique the effectively adds both bass line and chords to the melody. The piece enjoyed a resurrection in the 1970’s when it was brilliantly used in the film titled “The Sting”. It was written around 1902 and gained steadily in popularity. This is doubtless the most famous piece of Ragtime music ever composed. The Entertainer by Scott Joplin (1868-1917) Scott was a cousin of blues singer Ada Brown.1. Scott's best-known compositions include Climax Rag, Frog Legs Rag, Grace and Beauty, Ophelia Rag and The Ragtime Oriole. Scott died at Douglas Hospital on August 30, 1938, at age 52 and was laid beside his wife in Westlawn Cemetery. He moved in with his cousin Ruth Callahan in Kansas City, Kansas, and even though was suffering from chronic dropsy, he continued to compose and play piano. He lost his theater work, his wife died without child, and his health deteriorated. With the arrival of sound movies, however, his fortunes declined. In the last years of his life, Scott busied himself with teaching, composing and leading an eight-piece band that played for various beer parks and movie theaters in the area. His cousin Patsy Thomas remembers, "Everybody called him 'Little Professor' He always walked rapidly, looking at the ground - would pass you on the street and never see you - seemed always deep in thought." Those that knew him recall that theater work was a large part of his activity. In 1914 Scott moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he married Nora Johnson, taught music, and accompanied silent movies as an organist and arranger at the Panama Theater. Scott became a regular contributor to the Stark catalogue until 1922. It quickly became a hit and was second in sales in the Stark catalogue only to that of Joplin's own " Maple Leaf Rag". Stark published the rag a year later as " Frog Legs Rag". Upon hearing the rag, Joplin introduced him to his own publisher, John Stillwell Stark, and recommended he publish the work. He located Joplin and asked if he would listen to one of his ragtime compositions. Louis, Missouri, in search of his idol Scott Joplin in 1905. Ragtime Historians Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis recount that Scott went to St. James Scott's 1904 "On the Pike", which refers to the midway of the St. By 1904, two more compositions by Scott, "Fascinator March" and "On the Pike March" were published and sold well, but not enough to keep Dumars in business and soon the company ceased publishing. Demand for his music convinced Dumars to print the first of Scott's published compositions, "A Summer Breeze - March and Two Step", in 1903. Dumars, first washing windows, then demonstrating music at the piano as a song plugger, including his own pieces. In 1902 he began working at the music store of Charles L. In 1901 his family moved to Carthage, Missouri, where he attended Lincoln High School. He was born in Neosho, Missouri, to James Scott, Sr., and Molly Thomas Scott, both former slaves. He is regarded as one of the "Big Three" composers of classical ragtime along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb. James Sylvester Scott (Febru– August 30, 1938) was an American ragtime composer and pianist.
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