| "The Entertainer" A rag time two step |
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| Music by | Scott Joplin |
|---|---|
| Published | 1902 |
| Form | Sheet music |
"The Entertainer" is a 1902 piano rag written by Scott Joplin and published by John Stark & Son. It rose to prominence as part of the ragtime revival in the 1970s when it was used as the theme music for the 1973 Oscar-winning film The Sting. Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation reached number 3 on the Billboard magazine Hot 100 music chart in 1974. Ironically, Scott Joplin's ragtime music was no longer popular during the 1930s, the period during which the film is set.
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Music
"The Entertainer" is sub-titled "A rag time two step", which was a form of dance popular until about 1911, and a style which was common among rags written at the time. It is written primarily in the key of C, although from bar 55 there is a section in F. It structurally follows the form A-B-A-C-D, with the melody indicated to be played an octave higher in the repeats. Suggested by the rag's dedication to a Mandolin club, , author Rudi Blesh wrote that "some of the melodies recall the pluckings and the fast tremolos of the little steel-stringed plectrum instruments..."[1].
Audio samples
Notes
- ^ Rudi Blesh, pxxiv, "Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist", Introduction to Scott Joplin Collected Piano Works, New York Public Library, 1981
Milton Berle Sung this song with lyrics at the Muppet Show "Now the curtain is going up,The Entertainer is taking a bow..." Lyrics by: John Brimhall
External links
- Musical score and MIDI file at the Mutopia Project
- Sheet music and mp3 at mfiles.co.uk (interactive version requires Scorch)
- Free Mp3 Download and video of The Entertainer
