Thursday, February 7, 2008

Ragtime


One of my favorite historic locations in St. Louis is Scott Joplin's house. Well, it's actually an old apartment building on Delmar where he lived for six years with his wife Belle. It was here that he wrote such classics as "The Entertainer", "Maple Leaf Rag" and "Smoke on the Water". There are several pianos there of the 1800's vintage, including one with a lever that switches the hammers to a "tack" position for that jangly honky-tonk sound. Here I am, tickling the ivories with one of my favorite rags, "Careful With That Axe, Eugene". I can't help but think that if Scott Joplin were alive today, he would vote for Barack Obama. He might even write a song about him!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow you sure are living it up over there. I can't believe you're going to miss the caucus this Saturday. I'm going to hear Obama speak tomorrow. I'll tell him what you said about Joplin. I think Janice would vote for him too.

Anonymous said...

That's awesome! You're playing Scott Joplin's piano!

Now do "Solace"! OK, now do "Sabre Dance"! Whee!

johnO said...

Ba-Rag Obama!

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