The Entertainer (rag)
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| "The Entertainer" A rag time two step |
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| Music by | Scott Joplin |
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| 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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"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].
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The Entertainer (Ogg Vorbis audio file, 4.3 MB) The Entertainer (MIDI file, 18 KB) Image:The Entertainer - Scott Joplin.mid - Problems playing the files? See media help.
- ^ Rudi Blesh, pxxiv, "Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist", Introduction to Scott Joplin Collected Piano Works, New York Public Library, 1981
- 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