As a young man, he takes up piano and several other instruments and plays for dances and shows. In the 1890s, he settles in Sedalia and meets John Stark, a music-store owner who will become his publisher. In one version, Stark is in a club having a beer when he first hears Joplin s music. 1899 Publication of the Maple Leaf Rag. Sales are slow at first, but then it becomes a nationwide best-seller.
Music publishers churn out hundreds of rags to capitalize on the trend.
A typical one will feature crude stereotypes of African-Americans on the cover and forgettable formulaic music on the inside. The first recording of Maple Leaf Rag is made, in Minneapolis. No copies are known to survive. Joplin moves to New York. He composes pieces such as Solace, Pineapple Rag, and Wall Street Rag, and his most ambitious work, the opera Treemonisha.