| Contents |
Breaking all the rules: the 1890s. A medley for the fair: a time to start raggin' it ; My kind of town: hot nights in the city ; The making of the legend: a boy and a banjo ; Marching to a ragtime tune -- The music makers play main street: the 1900s. Writing in ragtime ; Tin Pan Alley and All that jazz: footloose in "black bohemia" ; They all played ragtime: Scott Joplin and Irving Berlin: a case of plagiarism? ; The girls of ragtime and the cult of celebrity: murder, passion and honor -- The dream that wouldn't die: the 1910s. Dancing in ragtime ; The censors and the erotic life ; Reporting in ragtime ; Dreaming of Treemonisha -- After the rag: the finale. Little Mary and the little tramp: ragtime partners of the silent screen ; The rites of spring: the martyred saint of the ragtime era ; Ragtime in revival ; Echoes of the music: we're all still playing ragtime. |
| Abstract |
This biography follows Joplin's life from the brothels and bars of St. Louis to the music mills of Tin Pan Alley as he introduced a syncopated, lively style to classical piano. Joplin's effect on popular music is closely identified with his era and the role of African Americans on the music scene of the United States. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-217) and index. |
| LCCN | 2009010488 |
| ISBN | 9780786443765 (softcover : alk. paper) |
| ISBN | 0786443766 (softcover : alk. paper) |
