The composer emerges as a representative of the first post-Civil War generation of African Americans, of the men and women who found in the world of entertainment a way out of poverty and Berlin also reveals that Joplin was an associate of Irving Berlin, and that he accused Berlin of stealing his music to compose Alexander's Ragtime Band in 1911.īerlin paints a vivid picture of the ragtime years, placing Scott Joplin's story in its historical context. He shows how Joplin's opera Treemonisha was a tribute to the woman he loved, a woman His biography truly documents the story of the composer, replacing the myths and unsupported anecdotes of previous histories. Trained musicologist, he has uncovered a vast amount of new information about Joplin. A renowned authority on Joplin and the author of the acclaimed and widely cited Ragtime: A Musical and Cultural History, Berlin redefines the Scott Joplin biography. Was performed both in opera houses and on Broadway.ĭestined to be the definitive work on the man and his music, King of Ragtime is written by Edward A. While reaching a Top Ten position in the pop charts, Joplin's music was also being performed in classical recitals and setting new heights for sales of classical records. Never before had any composer's music been so acclaimed by both the popular and classical music worlds. Led by The Entertainer, one of the most popular pieces of the mid-1970s, a revival of his music resulted in events unprecedented in American musical history. Never before had any composer's music been so acclaimed by both the popular and class In 1974, the academy award-winning film The Sting brought back the music of Scott Joplin, a black ragtime composer who died in 1917. In 1974, the academy award-winning film The Sting brought back the music of Scott Joplin, a black ragtime composer who died in 1917.