2005Released
5:04

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about The Entertainer - A Ragtime Two-Step. By Songfacts®.

This rag was composed by Scott Joplin, the first classically trained black composer to become a household name in America. The piece was copyrighted December 29, 1902; copies were received by the Copyright Office, January 8, 1903. Joplin died in April 1917; although his place in the history of contemporary music was already secured, he predicted that he would not receive the recognition he deserved until 25 years after his death.

Ragtime was eventually succeeded by jazz, and although there was a revival in the 1940s, Joplin's prediction was not truly fulfilled until 1973 when "The Entertainer" was used as the theme music for the multiple Oscar winning film The Sting. The score took one of these Oscars; it included five other Joplin rags, all of which were adapted by Marvin Hamlisch. Along with Joshua Rifkin's million-selling 1970 album of Joplin recordings, the success of The Sting and its chart-topping soundtrack helped bring ragtime back to the mainstream.

Hamlisch's rendition peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 in May 1974.

Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of The Entertainer - A Ragtime Two-Step.
CKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
122BPM

Album

The album The Entertainer - A Ragtime Two-Step is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released The Entertainer - A Ragtime Two-Step.
Nonesuch
© 2005 Rhino Entertainment
℗ 2005 Rhino Entertainment

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