The Entertainer (rag)
Encyclopedia
"The Entertainer" is sub-titled "A rag time two step", which was a form of dance
popular until about 1911, and a style which was common among rags
written at the time.
Its structure is: Intro AA BB A CC Intro2 DD.
It is primarily set in the key of C Major, however; for the C section (commonly referred to as the 'Trio'), it modulates
to the subdominant
, F Major, then through a transitional passage modulates back to C Major for the D section. The "B" section contains an indication that the melody is to be played an octave higher on the repeat.
In the June 7, 1903 St. Louis Globe-Democrat, contemporary composer Monroe H. Rosenfeld described "The Entertainer" as "the best and most euphonious" of Joplin's compositions to that point. "It is a jingling work of a very original character, embracing various strains of a retentive character which set the foot in spontaneous action and leave an indelible imprint on the tympanum."
Suggested by the rag's dedication to "James Brown and his Mandolin Club," author Rudi Blesh
wrote that "some of the melodies recall the pluckings and the fast tremolos of the little steel-stringed plectrum instruments..." In fact, Stark issued an arrangement of the piece for two mandolins and a guitar.
of St. Louis, Missouri
. The centerpiece of the original cover art featured a Minstrel show
caricature of a Black man in formal attire on a theater stage.
"The Entertainer" also appeared in orchestration as part of "The Red Back Book" of "Standard High Class Rags" popular with ragtime bands.
released a recording called Scott Joplin: Piano Rags
on the classical
label Nonesuch
, which featured as its second track "The Entertainer". It sold 100,000 copies in its first year and eventually became Nonesuch's first million-selling record. The Billboard
"Best-Selling Classical LPs" chart for 28th September 1974 has the record at number 5, with the follow-up "Volume 2" at number 4, and a combined set of both volumes at number 3. Separately both volumes had been on the chart for 64 weeks. The album was nominated in 1971 for two Grammy Award
categories: Best Album Notes
and Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)
, but at the ceremony on March 14, 1972, Rifkin did not win in any category.. In 1979 Alan Rich
in the New York Magazine wrote that by giving artists like Rifkin the opportunity to put Joplin's music on disk Nonesuch Records
"created, almost alone, the Scott Joplin revival."
Marvin Hamlisch
lightly adapted Joplin's music for the 1973 film The Sting
, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation on April 2, 1974. His version of "The Entertainer" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
and the American Top 40
music chart on May 18, 1974, prompting the New York Times to write, "the whole nation has begun to take notice". Thanks to the film and its score, Joplin's work became appreciated in both the popular music world and in the classical music world, becoming (in the words of music magazine Record World
), the "classical phenomenon of the decade".
In the United States, "The Entertainer" is also commonly played by ice cream trucks, in order to attract attention.
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
popular until about 1911, and a style which was common among rags
Classic Rag
Classic Rag is a term used to describe the style of ragtime composition pioneered by Scott Joplin and the Missouri school of ragtime composers...
written at the time.
Its structure is: Intro AA BB A CC Intro2 DD.
It is primarily set in the key of C Major, however; for the C section (commonly referred to as the 'Trio'), it modulates
Modulation (music)
In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...
to the subdominant
Subdominant
In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately...
, F Major, then through a transitional passage modulates back to C Major for the D section. The "B" section contains an indication that the melody is to be played an octave higher on the repeat.
In the June 7, 1903 St. Louis Globe-Democrat, contemporary composer Monroe H. Rosenfeld described "The Entertainer" as "the best and most euphonious" of Joplin's compositions to that point. "It is a jingling work of a very original character, embracing various strains of a retentive character which set the foot in spontaneous action and leave an indelible imprint on the tympanum."
Suggested by the rag's dedication to "James Brown and his Mandolin Club," author Rudi Blesh
Rudi Blesh
Rudi Blesh was an American jazz critic and enthusiast....
wrote that "some of the melodies recall the pluckings and the fast tremolos of the little steel-stringed plectrum instruments..." In fact, Stark issued an arrangement of the piece for two mandolins and a guitar.
Publication history
The copyright on "The Entertainer" was registered December 29, 1902, along with two other Joplin rags: "A Breeze from Alabama" and "Elite Syncopations," all three of which were published by John Stark & SonJohn Stillwell Stark
John Stillwell Stark was a United States publisher of ragtime music. He is best known for publishing and promoting the music of Scott Joplin....
of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. The centerpiece of the original cover art featured a Minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
caricature of a Black man in formal attire on a theater stage.
"The Entertainer" also appeared in orchestration as part of "The Red Back Book" of "Standard High Class Rags" popular with ragtime bands.
Popularity and Legacy
In November 1970, Joshua RifkinJoshua Rifkin
Joshua Rifkin is an American conductor, keyboard player, and musicologist. He is best known by the general public for having played a central role in the ragtime revival in the 1970s with the three albums he recorded of Scott Joplin's works for Nonesuch Records, and to classical musicians for his...
released a recording called Scott Joplin: Piano Rags
Scott Joplin: Piano Rags
Scott Joplin: Piano Rags is a 1970 ragtime piano album, consisting of compositions by Scott Joplin played by Joshua Rifkin, on the Nonesuch Records label. The album cover states the name as Piano Rags by Scott Joplin. The record is considered to have been the first to reintroduce the music of...
on the classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
label Nonesuch
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
, which featured as its second track "The Entertainer". It sold 100,000 copies in its first year and eventually became Nonesuch's first million-selling record. The Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
"Best-Selling Classical LPs" chart for 28th September 1974 has the record at number 5, with the follow-up "Volume 2" at number 4, and a combined set of both volumes at number 3. Separately both volumes had been on the chart for 64 weeks. The album was nominated in 1971 for two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
categories: Best Album Notes
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
The Grammy Award for Best Album Notes has been presented since 1964. From 1973 to 1976, a separate award was presented for Best Album Notes - Classical. Those awards are listed under those years below. The award recognizes albums with excellent liner notes...
and Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)
The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance was awarded from 1959 to 2011. From 1967 to 1971 and in 1987 the award was combined with the award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance and awarded as the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or...
, but at the ceremony on March 14, 1972, Rifkin did not win in any category.. In 1979 Alan Rich
Alan Rich
Alan Rich was an American music critic who served on the staff of many newspapers and magazines on both coasts. Originally from Brookline, Massachusetts, he first studied medicine at Harvard University before turning to music...
in the New York Magazine wrote that by giving artists like Rifkin the opportunity to put Joplin's music on disk Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
"created, almost alone, the Scott Joplin revival."
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
lightly adapted Joplin's music for the 1973 film The Sting
The Sting
The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation on April 2, 1974. His version of "The Entertainer" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and the American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
music chart on May 18, 1974, prompting the New York Times to write, "the whole nation has begun to take notice". Thanks to the film and its score, Joplin's work became appreciated in both the popular music world and in the classical music world, becoming (in the words of music magazine Record World
Record World
Record World magazine was one of the three main music industry trade publications in the United States, along with Billboard and Cash Box magazines. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but since 1964 changed it to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin, both...
), the "classical phenomenon of the decade".
In the United States, "The Entertainer" is also commonly played by ice cream trucks, in order to attract attention.
See also
- List of compositions by Scott Joplin
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)
External links
- Musical score and MIDI file at the Mutopia ProjectMutopia projectThe Mutopia Project is a volunteer-run effort to create a library of free content sheet music, in a way similar to Project Gutenberg's library of public domain books.The music is reproduced from old scores that are out of copyright...
- Sheet music and mp3 at mfiles.co.uk (interactive version requires Sibelius Scorch)
- Free MP3 Download and video
- Free typeset sheet music from Cantorion.org.