![]() ![]() But as ‘Maple Leaf’ became known, sales increased substantially. “This is probably because Stark was at the time only a small-town publisher, and the ‘Maple Leaf’ is a difficult piece to play. “Sales in the first year were slight, only about 400,” according to the official website. ![]() This experience was not wasted on Joplin, who retained a lawyer when he approached noted music publisher John Stark with his famous “The Maple Leaf Rag,” which, despite a one-cent royalty, was popular enough to earn Joplin a steady income for years. Whatever lessons he acquired there-and the notation of music may have been the biggest asset-they may have been inconsequential for his emerging genius, which became increasingly evident by 1898 with the publication of several rags, none more lucrative than “Original Rags.” This venture was not without controversy, because Joplin had to share the composition with another arranger. The college was destroyed in a fire in 1925 and thus there is no record of Joplin’s achievements there as a student. Smith College in Sedalia, an institution founded by a group of Methodists. In addition to his early classical training, Joplin took classes at George R. Traveling had its benefits, but Joplin was far more secure at home in Sedalia, sometimes performing as a pianist at top social clubs and mentoring a number of talented musicians, including Scott Hayden and Arthur Marshall, both of whom he would later collaborate with on ragtime compositions. It was here that Joplin stood out among the members, impressing several businessmen who put up money to publish two of his compositions-“Please Say You Will” and “A Picture of Her Face,” according to the official Scott Joplin website. In 1895, he had wandered as far away as Syracuse, N.Y., where he was a member of the Texas Medley Quartette, a vocal group. Back home, he would continue to front a band and began his ventures in the territory as a wandering troubadour. He had his own small band, and with him as leader on the cornet, they performed for listeners outside the fair grounds. He returned to Sedalia after a short visit there, and then by 1893, he was in Chicago just in time for the World’s Fair. Louis, which at that time was a bustling cauldron of ragtime music. By his teen years, Joplin’s musical progress was quite impressive, so much so that there are notices-some anecdotal-about his ability as a performer.Īfter attending Sedalia High School, the ever intrepid Joplin traveled to St. His nascent talent was soon discovered by a classical pianist who gave him his first music lessons. Joplin’s father was a former slave and his mother a domestic worker in white homes, where reputedly Joplin first got a chance to touch a piano. In fact, unlike many of the soldiers stationed at Fort Polk, La., who used to straddle the state line with a bottle of whiskey, knowing that one side was wet and the other side dry because alcohol was prohibited, Joplin’s family lived on both sides of the border. The first solid geographical sighting of Joplin is in Texarkana, a city that borders Texas and Arkansas. This uncertain start of life will gather more layers of mystery and myth as his musical prowess and reputation gains wider and wider notoriety. Somewhere in Texas and somewhere between 18 are the locations often cited and the years most recorded. We are more assured where Joplin died than where or when he was born. By this time, he had already established his place in the pantheon of American music. Like most of the African-Americans who came to New York City before Harlem became a haven for them, Joplin worked his way up the island, beginning in Lower Manhattan and then settling in Harlem in 1912. ![]() Joplin, according to his biographer Edward Berlin, arrived in Harlem in 1907, well in advance of the Harlem Renaissance and four years before Randolph, who arrived in 1911 and began studying at City College. Philip Randolph, Zora Neale Hurston, Wallace Thurman and Langston Hughes, who was born in Joplin, Mo., all made their way to and made their mark in Harlem. It may seem strange that someone from Sedalia, Mo., would spend his final days in Harlem, but such a migration and final destination is not that unusual when you consider that such luminaries as A. He lived there with Lottie Stokes when he died on April 1, 1917. Boulevard, there is a plaque indicating the last residence of the great ragtime pioneer Scott Joplin. 131st St., just west of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Black Financial Health Open dropdown menuĪt 163 W. ![]()
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