SCOTT JOPLIN
 Scott Joplin was born near Linden, Texas in 1867 or 1868 (the exact year is unknown). He resided there until the age of seven. His father was a former slave, but when Scott was only around seven years old his father left work in the fields and took his family to Texarkana, which is a small town nestled directly on the Texas-Arkansas border. Even at age seven he was quite good on the banjo and beginning to learn piano. This is really where it all began for Scott Joplin and his talents. At age eleven he began lessons with a German man by the name of Julius Weiss. Weiss introduced him to the European world and style of music and really encouraged his efforts. Some sources suggest that this is where his real passion for opera and ragtime music came from and what inspired him to write the two operas and over forty ragtime pieces in his short but fruitful life.
During his whole life Scott Joplin really never was given the credit, nor the recognition he deserved until over half a century after his death. In the 1970's some of his compositions were featured as background music in such films as "The Sting." Also in 1976 his opera "Treemoshina" was revived, to win him a Pulitzer prize just three years after the production "The Sting" was released and rounded up an Academy Award. To conclude I'd like to say very simply that for all the reasons above, this courageous, intellectual, and amazing composer is my hero.
|
After graduating from Lincoln High School in Sedalia, Missouri, Joplin went on to join and create several bands and compose about 60 pieces. He also maintained several part-time jobs in Sedalia when not traveling. These included teaching piano, playing at special occasions and events and performing at local social clubs. In those years Joplin produced such classics as "The Maple Leaf Rag," "Cascades," and "The Gladiolius Rag." Unfortunately, in 1916 Joplin was found to have an incurable disease, which ended his career. On April 1, 1917 the life of a truly great musician came to a close.
Now that you know the basic story of this great man's life I'd like to tell you exactly why I believe him to be a hero. First let me say how important he was to the history of ragtime music. This style of music was just catching on in America back then and he enforced the style called "rag" and cut a straight line for those who came after him to follow. 
There were quite a few problems that arose during his life because he was black. In those days that made all the difference. When he began his musical career, no one cared except his friends and family. In that time a black person trying to convince a white person of anything concerning music or not would be similar to an ant walking up to an anteater and saying, "You know, caterpillars really are more nutritious." The "King of Rag" was faced with many such challenges involving race and wealth, but he defied the odds and became one of the most superior musicians of all time.
"After suffering deteriorating health due to syphilis that he contracted some years earlier,
Joplin died on April 1, 1917 in Manhattan State Hospital".