Following the success of the Maple Leaf Rag in 1899 and a steady stream of ragtime compositions since then, Scott Joplin was at the height of his popularity when he published "The Entertainer" in 1902. Like the Maple Leaf Rag, The Entertainer was a major success and cemented the composer's stature as the "King of Ragtime". By the end of the first world war in 1918 people were listening to Jazz and other styles, and Ragtime had diminished in popularity. However "The Entertainer" was to play a key role in the ragtime revival of the 1970s when it was used on the soundtrack to the movie The Sting.
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