With so many great contemporary jazz musicians it's easy to forget those that came along during the very early days of jazz. Today marks what may be the 141st anniversary of Scott Joplin's birth but no one is certain his birthday is today given the very thin historical record about his early life.
Whenever his actual birthday is, Happy Birthday Scott Joplin.
From Wikipedia...
Scott Joplin was an African-American composer and pianist, born into the first post-slavery generation. He achieved fame for his unique ragtime compositions, and was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." One of his first pieces, the "Maple Leaf Rag", became ragtime's first and most influential hit, and remained so for a century.
Joplin's music returned to popularity in the early 1970s with the release of the Academy award-winning movie The Sting which featured several of his compositions, such as "The Entertainer". In 1976 Joplin was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
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