He was raised in and around Texarkana, Texas, at turns made a living as a cornet player and a singer, and eventually published the best ragtime piano pieces ... the sheet music was a huge seller ...

In Sedalia in 1899, Joplin often played piano ... ragtime music that came afterward. "That turned out to be the first song in the history of published music to sell a million copies of sheet ...

To the relief of the young audience, they were asked to stomp, clap, dance and snap along with lively ragtime music. The seventh annual Piano Celebration Week introduced a new educational element ...