Plog Number 300 “Yay”
Scott Joplin
1869-1917
Hello Ploggers, how are you? Sometimes it is really great to take a break from Politics. We can never just ignore it because it affects our very lives. We have lost rights that many never thought we would. Getting them back is the reason this Plog is called Reclaim. But today I want to talk about music and a musician. I am learning to play🎹 piano for the last 6 months. I absolutely ❤️ love it. Being the person that I am, I like to learn a little background about the composers I am attempting to play. So let’s talk about it.
Each song and composer has a story and I need to know them. The newest song is "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin. I have known the song for a long time but now I really appreciate it and Joplin in a different way. Joplin was born to a Texarkana family of 6 in 1868. He lived until 1917. He died penniless, in a mental hospital in New York from Neuro-Syphillis. He only lived for 49 years but what a contribution to Rag Time Style music. His Maple Leaf Rag is a complicated work of art. I am nowhere near ready to play that song. Joplin was famous for saying that he would be famous 25 years after his death. He was right, but he was off on the years. 59 years after his death he was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer🏆 Prize for Music in 1976. His song The Entertainer gained popularity after it was used in the hit movie the Sting with Robert Redford and Paul Newman in 1973.
Joplin had to fight racism and the music business was very competitive. He played for his supper over his career. He reached some success in his time. This was not the kind of lifestyle his parents wanted him to live. They were farmers and wanted him to be one too. But Joplin had been taught as a child by an older Jewish man by the name of Julius Weiss to play piano. Mr. Weiss was from Germany and he taught Joplin at an early age to play. Joplin’s parents were both musical. His father played the 🎻 violin and his mother sang. His talent must have been immense. He was famous for letting his songs keep a fierce beat within the song. I find that the left hand keeps the beat throughout his 🎶 music. He even wrote an Opera called Treemonisha in 1911.
My hat is off to Joplin and his talent. Here it is 107 years after his death and he is still very relevant. His accomplishment are worth devoting an entire Plog to remind of us of what a young man did with his life and drive. RECLAIM!
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