Joplin: The Easy Winners

You may consider ragtime to be the great-great-great grandfather of modern jazz, and Scott Joplin is widely regarded as its undisputed master. In 1899, after graduating from college and working as a pianist for local African American social clubs, Joplin submitted a copy of a new rag to a Sedalia, Missouri publishing house: The Maple Leaf Rag. The piece was the first instrumental work in history to sell over one million copies, and the work made Joplin an overnight musical star. After the monumental success of Maple Leaf Rag, Joplin wrote ragtime hit after ragtime hit, including The Entertainer, Pine Apple Rag, and this selection, The Easy Winners.