I’m pretty psyched, I’ve just ordered the book King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era from Amazon, and I can’t wait for it to arrive to read it. It promises to be a real page-turner.

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Scott Joplin‘s music. Like most, my first exposure to Joplin was via Marvin Hamlisch’s soundtrack to “The Sting” back in 1973 – still one of my all-time favorite movies, BTW). At that time, and at various times throughout my life since, whenever I found myself in a down period, Scott Joplin’s rags always brought me comfort and a sense of quiet joy. Perhaps it’s because the turbulance of Joplin’s own life brought about a sense of melancholy and, at times, even sadness, in the music he composed that touched my own spirit and melancholic inclinations.

To me Joplin’s music is some of the most original ever produced by an American artist. It pleases my ears and brings with it a sense of imagination since it recalls a simpler (although, yes, harder) time in America. It’s music in every classical sense of the word. Tracey hates it – she thinks it’s too repetitive – but you have to listen to it to truly appreciate it.

Here is Cory Hall of BachScholar.com playing several of my all-time favorite rags: “Weeping Willow” (which I think he plays a tad too slow for my liking, but better than too fast, I say), “Magnetic Rag”, “The Cascades”, “Ragtime Dance”, and my favorite, the incomparable “Solace”.

Enjoy!