Scott Joplin – Maple Leaf Rag

My mother has always played the piano. All of us girls also took piano lessons for at least a year or two when we were young. I only took lessons for two years and begged my mom to be able to quit. I liked playing the piano, I just really hated the teacher.

But one of the reasons I wanted to learn the piano was because of the album Scott Joplin Piano Rags.

The fact that each hand was doing something different and at such a fast speed, kind of blew my mind. We also had the sheet music and my mother could play them, maybe one of my sisters got to the point of learning them, but Joshua Rifkin, who played on the album, just made it sound so effortless. My mother’s middle brother was also a big fan and when we would be at my grandparents for Thanksgiving, he would play a bunch of Scott Joplin rags. I now have the piano that was at my grandma’s house and sometimes I think about getting it tuned and re-learning how to play, and maybe I could get to the point of being able to play The Entertainer, but none of the fast rags.

Speaking of The Entertainer, remember that the movie The Sting, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, came out in 1973 and ragtime had a moment. But it never went out of fashion in our family.

When I decided that this needed to be on the list of 20, I listened to the album a few times during my commute and I felt so at ease. My mom also listened to a lot of classical music, but sometimes if I listen to classical music in the car I start to get sleepy. Not so with Scott Joplin. It’s relaxing but lively. I probably hadn’t listened to it in 40 years or so but I knew all the songs and which one was coming next. If you have a long car ride in your future, I recommend giving it a spin.