Scott Joplin's (1868 - 1917) story is a classic example of rags to riches (no pun intended!). He was born of poor parents into a family where music was encouraged and his extraordinary talent fostered from an early age. Family disagreements forced him from home at the age of fourteen, to make a living as a pianist in the murky world of America honky-tonk and red light districts. Here he was exposed to a welter of musical influences: popular music, light classics, folk music old and new, black an...