1.   Scott Joplin  -  The Entertainer

Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" is one of the the most enduringly popular works in music. It is a rag time two step, a fashionable form around the beginning of the twentieth century. Joplin was the first classically trained black composer to become a household name in America. Ragtime was eventually succeeded by jazz.

The Entertainer

2.   Scott Joplin  -  Maple Leaf Rag

Alongside "The Entertainer," this is one of the most famous pieces from the "King of Ragtime". The "Maple Leaf Rag" is associated with Sedalia, Missouri and may have been named after the "Maple Leaf Club" in that city.

Maple Leaf Rag

3.   E L Bowman  -  12th Street Rag

Euday Bowman, born in 1887, represented the Texas style of Ragtime. His most well-known piece is the "12th Street Rag". It was recently popularised in a version for ukulele as background music on the TV series SpongeBob SquarePants.

12th Street Rag

4.   Irving Berlin  -  Alexanders Ragtime Band

First published in 1911 this was Irving Berlin's first major hit. There is some evidence, although inconclusive, that Berlin borrowed the melody from a draft of "A Real Slow Drag" by Scott Joplin that had been submitted to a publisher.

Alexanders Ragtime Band

5.   Scott Joplin  -  The Easy Winners (A Rag Time Two Step)

"The Easy Winners" is a popular ragtime composition by Scott Joplin. The copyright was registered on October 10, 1901. The Shattinger Music Company of St. Louis, Missouri bought the piece and published a simplified version. Only later did John Stillwell Stark publish it in the original version. The title refers to those who win easily at sporting events.

The Easy Winners (A Rag Time Two Step)

6.   Wooster And Smith.. -  Black Cat Rag

The Black Cat Rag, written by St Louis composer Frank Wooster and Ethyl B. Smith, was dedicated to Miss Bessie Wood Stewart. It was originally published by Frank Wooster Co., St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Wooster later sold this rag to John Stark, Scott Joplin's publisher also of St Louis. It was widely known and still performed and recorded today.

Black Cat Rag

7.   J.C.Halls  -  The Western Blues

Little is known about the life of J.C.Halls. His Western Blues, with its insistent rhythms and droll second-half interjections, is, however, a work that has deservedly stood the test of time.

The Western Blues

8.   Silver Sand Rag

The composer of this widely known and much-performed rag is, sadly, unknown. It contains many of the classic features of the style, including tricky syncopations and a leaping accompaniment.

Silver Sand Rag

9.   Scott Joplin  -  Peacherine Rag

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Composed in 1901, Peacherine has many of the characteristics of Scott Joplin's more famous rag "The Entertainer". It was the most performed piece at the St. Louis World Fair in 1904 and was also used by Ennio Morricone in the soundtrack to the movie ''The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean."

Peacherine Rag

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10.   Scott Joplin  -  A Breeze from Alabama

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A March and Two-Step marked 'Not Fast', written in 1902 when Joplin was in St Louis. It was dedicated to the composer, conductor, cornet player and circus sideshow manager P.G. Lowery.

A Breeze from Alabama

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