#RAGTIME ARTISTS PROFESSIONAL#

They include the release of new recordings, the formation of ragtime societies and clubs, oral history projects, various publications, and live stage and television performances. He would become an unlikely addition to the African American-led musical phenomenon and together, Joplin, Scott, and Joseph become known as the ‘Big 3’, the most popular and influential artists of Ragtime, arguably the first pop stars, who made it possible for the genre to become a music of lasting significance.

#RAGTIME ARTISTS PROFESSIONAL#

The popularity of ragtime began to wane by the first decade of the 20th century, but there have been various revival efforts since the 1940s. The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (PRO) is the worlds only year-round, professional ensemble re creating Americas Original Music the syncopated sounds of. As leader of the all-Black 369th Infantry “Hellfighters” Band, he began ragging the melodies and applying instrumental techniques that varied the timbre (as in “Memphis Blues,” 1919). Click on an artists profile to find out more about them and listen to their music. James Reese Europe also introduced the ragging style and a new sound to US military bands. Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag” was widely performed by pianists and instrumental ensembles and led to ragtime as a standard in the repertoire of many society bands, such as Clef Club Orchestra. The success of his “Maple Leaf Rag” (1899) and others that followed placed Joplin squarely in the American mainstream as a ragtime composer. Scott Joplin, dubbed “The King of Ragtime Writers” by his contemporaries, is the best-known composer of ragtime. Tom Turpin’s “Harlem Rag” (1897) is the first ragtime song published by an African American. They were followed by tours of numerous other famous ragtime artists including the white originator of ragtime, Ben Harney, and the emperor of ragtime. Many songs commercially marketed under the ragtime label were not of this tradition. Early recordings were made by performers on many instruments. The broader society became acquainted with ragtime only after it appeared in print form and publishers targeted the white middle-class and upper-class piano players as its consumers. The 1922 Victor catalog had just 25 ragtime titles, and the 1927 catalog listed none. Printed versions of ragtime simplified the improvisatory quality of the original style, which changed the organic character of the tradition. Beginning in 1897, ragtime became available in a written tradition when African American ragtime players and their white counterparts began transcribing and writing original rags to be published and sold as sheet music. Itinerant African American musicians developed ragtime as a playing style of music spontaneously created while performing in brothels, saloons, bars, and other venues where they played after the Civil War. Eubie Blake, ragtime pianist and composer, is one of the most important figures in early-20th-century African-American music.

Ragtime artists