Sadly, though, he shouldn't technically get an Early Influence induction, since he never recorded any of his songs. No wax cylinders, no magnetic wire spools, no nothing. The closest he came was creating songs to be played on player piano rolls. That and sheet music. Odd predicament. Still, it's hard to say he's not deserving of some sort of induction.

Posted by Philip on Sunday, 05/12/2013 @ 00:40am

The father of ragtime (despite Ben Harney billing himself as such) deserves a spot in any credible music hall of fame. Since this is the RNRHOF, which has a recent disturbing track record of pretending nothing happened musically before the Beatles, I doubt Joplin would even cross the narrow minds of the voting committee (In fact, I doubt most of them even know who he is, despite the fact that The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag are arguably two of the most recognizable and famous pieces of non-classical music ever written and recorded). Testament to the immortality of Joplin's works is that over 70 years after The Entertainer was originally composed, Marvin Hamlisch revived it for the soundtrack of The Sting and earned a #3 chart hit in 1974 (#1 on Adult Contemporary charts). There are songs half as old that don't have that kind of staying power.

Posted by Zach on Wednesday, 01/28/2015 @ 20:44pm

Nearly 6 million views on YouTube - testament to the timelessness and universality of Scott Joplin's work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPmruHc4S9Q

Posted by Zach on Monday, 02/23/2015 @ 21:11pm

I recently visited the Scott Joplin House/Museum in St. Louis a few months back. I already knew his legacy, but it was quite a thrill to set foot in the only place in the world devoted to 'the king of ragtime'. I'm not sure I'd go as far as putting him in as an early inductee. If so, that should have been a longgg time ago! But in some cases, its not too late. Ragtime was laid out as the beginning of American popular music, and it evolved into rock and roll. I agree, Zach, his name probably won't cross any of the voting committee members minds, but at least there's The Sting. By the way, if you're ever in St. Louis, be sure to check out the museum. You'll be glad you did.

Posted by Jason Voigt on Tuesday, 02/24/2015 @ 20:43pm

Thank you very kindly for the recommendation, Jason. I'll certainly bookmark the Scott Joplin House/Museum on my "must-visit" list when I do make it to St. Louis. Such a brilliant composer he was.

Posted by Zach on Saturday, 03/7/2015 @ 22:45pm

Philip, you're technically wrong, he recorded a few on piano roll, an analog recording format

Posted by Timothy on Sunday, 03/19/2017 @ 00:25am

Piano rolls are more akin to music boxes though. Actually, not even that. More like sheet music, because each performance will sound different based on the piano it's played on, whereas a reproduction format that actually captures the sound of the artist as they perform it will presumably sound (relatively) pretty much the same whether you play it on a cassette, a CD, a record, etc. Or whether you play it on one CD player or another. Not the same at all.

Posted by Philip on Sunday, 03/19/2017 @ 21:28pm

lol no way, just because he recorded a song doesnt make him go to rock hall

Posted by sam on Sunday, 07/7/2019 @ 15:22pm

Excuse me Sam, but he did not just record a song, he completely changed the course of music, without Scott Joplin, there is no jazz, no rock, no pop, no hip hop, no house, no techno, no nothing, Scott Joplin should've been inducted as an early influence very early on.

Posted by The One!!! on Sunday, 08/1/2021 @ 19:05pm