Ragtime Post

Ragtime, born in Missouri, was considered the music that defined the roaring twenties. With the distribution of sheet music, regular people were able to play Maple Leaf Rag on pianos inside their own homes. The house was not only one place that Rag could be found, Rag was also popular in the dance trend called the Cakewalk. A Cakewalk served as a normalized way for Black people to mimic White people. Its name is said to have come from the prize, men win an entire cake, women win various pieces of candy. Famous Rag artists such as Scott Joplin, Eubie Black, and Jelly Roll Morton have contributed greatly to the Rag we hear today, by putting their personal style on the music. Ragtime still plays a subliminal role in pop culture today, it is responsible for saying “That takes the cake” and continues to be a popular genre in the theatre world.