He spent his twenties traveling around the American south, performing on any piano, in any venue he could find. Scott Joplin didn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps working on the railroad. He sent many gifts and money back to Weiss later on in his career. Weiss taught Joplin free-of-charge he understood what hardship, poverty and racial inequality was like. He caught the attention of music professor Julius Weiss, a German-Jewish immigrant. The family was quite musical but, it became evident from an early age that Scott was particularly talented.
His father was a former slave and his mother was freeborn. Scott Joplin was born in Texarkana, Arkansas in 1868. Composer Scott Joplin was called “The King of Ragtime.” Though his works were popular during his lifetime, Joplin did not have an easy life or kingly riches. Much like mazurkas evoke Poland and waltzes remind us of Vienna, the “rag” will forever be tied to the United States.
