Dancing to a Black Man’s Tune: A Life of Scott Joplin

In the early 20th century, as Americans enjoyed ragtime, they danced to a black man’s tune. This biography, recounts the life of Scott Joplin, the African American ragtime composer whose musical genius helped break down racial barriers and bring America to a new cultural frontier. Born in 1868 to former slaves, Scott Joplin lived at a time when white Americans routinely denied African Americans basic civil rights, economic opportunities and social standing. In spite of these tremendous obstacles, Joplin and other musicians created a musical form that was eagerly embraced by white, middle-class Americans. By the early 20th century, many writers agreed that Negro music - especially spirituals and ragtime - was the only true American music. As one of the creators of ragtime, Joplin moved between black and white society, and his experience offers a window into the complex forces of class, race and culture that shaped modern America. Framed by two decisive events in American history, the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1868 and America’s entrance into the Great War in Europe in 1917, Scott Joplin’s extraordinary life reflects a crucial period in the evolution of American culture. During those years Joplin lived in a variety of communities, and his experience permits a glimpse into the lives of black and white Americans in Reconstruction Texas, small-town Missouri, and two important urban cultural centres - St Louis and New York. Echoing the ragtime music she celebrates, Curtis counterpoints the story of American cultural history with the events of Joplin’s life.