Description
Drawing much inspiration from gospel hymns, spirituals and plantation songs, Scott Joplin composed 38 piano rags. Sadly only a handful were commercially successful during his lifetime but that was to change in the 1970s when an album of his work featuring the pianist Joshua Rifkin sparked a huge revival of interest in his work. The 1973 film, The Sting, featured many of Joplin’s compositions – including the Pineapple Rag and this was followed up in 1976 when Joplin was posthumously awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize.
Joplin wrote Pineapple Rag in New York in 1908 and it is widely regarded as one of Joplin’s best. Aside from its infectious melodies and signature syncopations listen out for the pioneering Boogie Woogie bass line and jazz blues’ flattened sevenths!
