Scott Joplin was not appreciated for his major contributions to American music during his lifetime.
Despite being crowned “The King of Ragtime,” and writing classic rags “The Entertainer,” and “Maple Leaf Rag,” — which was the first song to sell one million copies of sheet music — Joplin died impoverished on April 1, 1917 in New York City. He was buried in a pauper's grave that was left unmarked until 1974.
Efforts to properly honor Joplin continued in 1976, when he was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize, and through the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site that Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources maintains. But Joplin’s legacy is also alive in his music: Pianists and ragtime enthusiasts have worked to uplift Joplin’s life and career. That includes 23-year-old musician Royce Martin, who breathed new life into Joplin’s music with his album “Memories on Morgan Street.” On the album, Martin takes Joplin’s rags and puts his own touch on it. The result is a new sound that Martin has dubbed “swagtime,” which is ragtime infused with jazz and hip-hop — bringing ragtime to the 21st Century. Martin told St. Louis on the Air that working at Scott Joplin State Historic Site inspired him to amplify Joplin’s works and celebrate St. Louis’ place in American music history.
“I feel that St. Louis's connection to great American pop music could be taught in such a way that makes St. Louis a more attractive place, even aesthetically,” Martin said about “Memories on Morgan Street.” “I felt I needed to tell the story of ragtime as the birth of American pop music…and wanted to put that on my album.”
“Memories on Morgan Street” also features interludes where Martin imagines conversations between himself and Joplin, with the two musicians talking about ragtime as the voice of America — and where Martin imagines where American pop music is headed.
“Ragtime is the birth of American pop music,” Martin said. “Which I guess technically makes Scott Joplin, the King of Pop at the turn of the 20th century.”
“[Artists] are more likely to do what has proven successful in the past without actually channeling what speaks to them… If an artist is able to properly project what they feel, then that is actually the true spirit of what created this American pop music in the first place. Which is this idea that everybody could contribute by telling their own unique stories.”
For more with Royce Martin, including how he came up with “swagtime” and what he thinks of opposition to genre bending, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
