The Entertainer (rag)

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"The Entertainer" is a 1902 piano rag written by Scott Joplin and published by John Stark & Son. It rose to prominence as part of the ragtime revival in the 1970s when it was used as the theme music for the 1973 Oscar-winning film The Sting. Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation reached number 3 on the Billboard magazine Hot 100 music chart in 1974. Ironically, Scott Joplin's ragtime music was no longer popular during the 1930s, which is the time period the film is set in.

1 Music
2 Appearances in popular culture
3 Music files
4 Notes
5 External link

[edit] Music

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The Entertainer is sub-titled "A rag time two step", which was a form of dance popular until about 1911, and a style which was common to many rags written at the time. It is written primarily in the key of C, although from bar 55 there is a section in F. It structurally follows the form A-B-A-C-D, with the melody indicated to be played an octave higher in the repeats. Suggested by the rag's dedication to "James Brown and his Mandolin club", author Rudi Blesh wrote that the melodies "some of the melodies recall the pluckings and the fast tremolos of the little steel-stringed plectrum instruments..."^[1].

[edit] Appearances in popular culture

The song is played in every episode of cartoon Pat & Mat
In Britain it has become synonymous with the sport snooker. The tune is often played to accompany montages of the game on BBC television. Snooker champion Steve Davis listens to "The Entertainer" before an important match to get himself into the desired state of mind.
The song is the theme of the Sega Master System's version of the board game Monopoly
The song is the theme of the 8-bit Atari game Nadral.
The song was featured in the PC game Lego Island.
The song played in the background of a Simpsons episode in which Homer reminisces about his first visit to New York. In addition to this Reverend Lovejoy attempts to play the song on the church organ during a service but makes several errors in doing so and re-attempts to play it several times with little success.
The song was used in the Felix cat food adverts during the 90's.
The song was performed by Phyllis Diller (on saxophone, laboriously) and the house orchestra on an episode of "The Muppet Show."
A V-Chip Public Service Announcement featuring Kermit the Frog and Pepe the King Prawn singing about the V-chip using the tune of "The Entertainer."
The song was used in the opening credits for the short film "A Punk, a Death and a Bible" by filmmaker Seamus Fleming.

[edit] Music files

The Entertainer (Ogg version) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
The Entertainer (MIDI version) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
Problems playing the files? See media help.

The 2 files in the table are the full performance of "The Entertainer". They can be downloaded and played on a computer (use “Save Link As...” or “Download Link As...” in your browser). These renditions are played with a fast swing rhythm and embellished with a little stride piano. The 2nd file is the same performance recorded to audio, with a high quality piano.