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Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the "Maple Leaf Rag", became the genre's first and most influential hit, later being recognized as the quintessential rag. Joplin considered ragtime to be a form of classical music meant to be played in concert halls and largely disdained the performance of ragtime as honky tonk music most common in saloons. Joplin grew up in a musical family of railway laborers in Texarkana, Texas. During the late 1880s, he traveled the American South as a musician. He went to Chicago for the World's Fair of 1893, which helped make ragtime a national craze by 1897. Joplin moved to Sedalia, Missouri, in 1894 and worked as a piano teacher. He began publishing music in 1895, and his "Maple Leaf Rag" in 1899 brought him fame and a steady income. In 1901, Jopl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin cities, twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census. The city and its Texarkana, Arkansas, Arkansas counterpart form the core of the Texarkana metropolitan area, Texarkana metropolitan statistical area, encompassing all of Bowie County, Texas, and Miller County, Arkansas. The two cities had a combined population of 65,580 in the 2020 decennial census, and the metropolitan area had a population of 149,482. History Railroads were quick to see the possibilities of connecting markets in this vast area. In the late 1850s, the builders of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad were pushing their line steadily south across Arkansas. By 1874, they crossed the Red River of the South, Red River and reached the Texas state line. Between February 16 and March 19, 1874, trains ran between the Texas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dementia
Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically involves problems with memory, thinking, behavior, and motor control. Aside from memory impairment and a thought disorder, disruption in thought patterns, the most common symptoms of dementia include emotional problems, difficulties with language, and decreased motivation. The symptoms may be described as occurring in a continuum (measurement), continuum over several stages. Dementia is a life-limiting condition, having a significant effect on the individual, their caregivers, and their social relationships in general. A diagnosis of dementia requires the observation of a change from a person's usual mental functioning and a greater cognitive decline than might be caused by the normal aging process. Several diseases and injuries to the brain, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandolin
A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled Strings (music), strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of eight strings. A variety of string types are used, with steel strings being the most common and usually the least expensive. The courses are typically tuned in an interval of perfect fifths, with the same tuning as a violin (G3, D4, A4, E5). Also, like the violin, it is the soprano member of a Family (musical instruments), family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and mandobass. There are many styles of mandolin, but the three most common types are the ''Neapolitan'' or ''round-backed'' mandolin, the ''archtop'' mandolin and the ''flat-backed'' mandolin. The round-backed version has a deep bottom, constructed of strips of wood, glued together into a bowl. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtis
Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ''curteis'' (Modern French ''courtois'') which was in turn derived from Latin ''cohors''. Nicknames include Curt, Curty and Curtie. The name means "polite, courteous, or well-bred". It is a compound of ''curt-'' "court" and ''-eis'' "-ish". The spelling ''u'' to render in Old French was mainly Anglo-Norman and Norman, when the spelling ''o'' was the usual Parisian French one, Modern French ''ou'' ''-eis'' is the Old French suffix for ''-ois'', Western French (including Anglo-Norman) keeps ''-eis'', simplified to ''-is'' in English. The word ''court'' shares the same etymology but retains a Modern French spelling, after the orthography had changed. It was brought to England (and subsequently, the rest of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African Americans and had African antecedents. In the 19th century, interest in the instrument was spread across the United States and United Kingdom by traveling shows of the 19th-century minstrel show fad, followed by mass production and mail-order sales, including instructional books. The inexpensive or home-made banjo remained part of rural folk culture, but five-string and four-string banjos also became popular for home parlor music entertainment, college music clubs, and early 20th century jazz bands. By the early 20th century, the banjo was most frequently associated with folk, cowboy music, and country music. By mid-century it had come to be strongly associated with bluegrass. Eventu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino piccolo and the pochette (musical instrument), pochette, but these are virtually unused. Most violins have a hollow wooden body, and commonly have four strings (music), strings (sometimes five-string violin, five), usually tuned in perfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and are most commonly played by drawing a bow (music), bow across the strings. The violin can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and, in specialized cases, by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow (col legno). Violins are important instruments in a wide variety of musical genres. They are most prominent in the Western classical music, Western classical tradition, both in ensembles (from chamber music to orchestras) and as solo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward A
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration. Variant forms The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Haskins
James Haskins (September 19, 1941 – July 6, 2005) was an American author with more than 100 books for both adults and children. Many of his books highlight the achievements of African Americans and cover the history and culture of Africa and the African American experience. His work also included many biographical subjects, ranging from Lena Horne and Hank Aaron to Scatman Crothers and Malcolm X. Most of his writings were for young people. He wrote on a great variety of subjects that introduced young people to the language and cultures of other continents, especially Africa. Biography Haskins was born in Demopolis, Alabama and spent his childhood in a household with many children. He received his high school education in Boston, Massachusetts.Watkins, Mel"James Haskins, an Author on Black History, Dies at 63," ''New York Times'' (July 11, 2005).Accessed April 28, 2009. He received a B.A. degree from Georgetown University in 1960, a B.S. degree from Alabama State University in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudi Blesh
Rudolph Pickett Blesh (January 21, 1899 – August 25, 1985) was an American jazz critic and enthusiast. Biography Blesh studied at Dartmouth College and held jobs writing jazz reviews for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' and the ''New York Herald Tribune'' in the 1940s. He was a prolific promoter of jazz concerts, particularly New Orleans jazz, and hosted a jazz radio program, ''This Is Jazz'', in 1947. (These shows have been reissued by Jazzology Records.) Blesh in collaboration with Harriet Janis (mother of actor and jazz band leader Conrad Janis) wrote '' They All Played Ragtime'' which was published in 1950 by Alfred A. Knopf. A promotional record consisting of "Maple Leaf Rag" recorded to piano roll by Jelly Roll Morton in 1907 and an interview with the co-authors was sent to radio stations. ''They All Played Ragtime'' proved to be a popular book and is credited as the cause for a renewed public interest in ragtime music. Blesh founded Circle Records in 1946, which r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort and its List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city is Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville. As of 2024, the state's population was approximately 4.6 million. Previously part of Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia, Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the fifteenth state on June 1, 1792. It is known as the "Bluegrass State" in reference to Kentucky bluegrass, a species of grass introduced by European settlers which has long supported the state's thoroughbred horse industry. The fertile soil in the central and western parts of the state led to the development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwest, and Tennessee to the west. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th-largest and List of U.S. states and territories by population, 9th-most populous of the List of states and territories of the United States, United States. Along with South Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast of the United States, East Coast. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh is the state's List of capitals in the United States, capital and Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte is its List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous and one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. The Charl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sting
''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film. Set in 1936, it involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw). The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who had directed Newman and Redford in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969). The screenplay, by David S. Ward, was inspired by real-life cons perpetrated by brothers Fred and Charley Gondorff and documented by David Maurer in his 1940 book ''The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man''. The film plays out in sections introduced by old-fashioned title cards, drawn by artist Jaroslav "Jerry" Gebr in a style reminiscent of the '' Saturday Evening Post''. It is noted for its use of ragtime, particularly the melody " The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin, which was adapted (along with other Joplin pieces) for the film by Marvin Hamlisch, producing a Billboard-topping soundtrack and a top-10 single. The film's success created a resurgence of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
