The Entertainer

With its amiable, slightly wistful air, The Entertainer is one of Joplin’s most enduring creations, and is often credited with spearheading the ragtime revival of the 1970s. He composed the rag in 1902, a year in which he was embarking on more ambitious forms, notably in the opera A Guest of Honor and melodic subtleties. Dedicated to James Brown and his Mandolin Club, The Entertainer is subtitled “A Rag Time Two Step”, alluding to a popular rag type of the era. It was published by John Stark of St. Louis, who heralded it for having “throttled and silenced the senseless knockers of ragtime—so-called—and forced its way into the halls of the highest culture and refinement”. The Entertainer made a significant comeback in 1973 when it appeared in the Academy Award-winning film The Sting, and pianist Marvin Hamlisch’s adaptation reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart.