Friday 18 June 2010
Tune of the Day: Maple Leaf Rag
by Scott Joplin
Published in 1899, “Maple Leaf Rag” was the first of Scott Joplin's piano pieces to be issued with his name, and his name only, listed as the composer. It is also one of the most famous of all ragtime pieces, and the first instrumental piece to sell over one million copies of sheet music.
“Maple Leaf Rag” is in many ways the prototypical Joplin rag, and a large number of the rags he later wrote are mere imitations of it. It is still a favorite of ragtime pianists, and has been described as an “American institution... still in print and still popular”. It also appears in the soundtracks of hundreds of films, cartoons, commercials, and video games.