ST. LOUIS — During Black History Month, 5 on Your Side is celebrating the history that was made in St. Louis, and highlighting the next generation of change-makers.
One of the most influential musicians of all time, Scott Joplin, called St. Louis home more than a century ago.
5 on Your Side reporter and anchor, Sydney Stallworth, took a trip to the historic Scott Joplin House on Delmar Boulevard, where she met a young musician who’s reintroducing Joplin’s iconic ragtime music to today’s 21st century audience.
Scott Joplin is Best known as the King of Ragtime. His composition, "The Entertainer," is still one of the most well-known ragtime tunes. The song appeared in the 1973 movie "The Sting." The movie won an Oscar for Best Film Score. Joplin is also known for his hits "Maple Leaf Rag," "Treemonisha" and "The Ragtime Dance."
5 On Your Side met with 22-year-old pianist and composer, Royce Martin, inside the historic home.
As he played Joplin’s songs on the decades-old pianos inside the Joplin House, our crew couldn't help but notice a new take on a classic ragtime tune.
“Ragtime influences all these styles that we really love,” Martin said.
Putting his own twist on the work of the genre's foremost composer, Martin tickles the ivories and is transported back in time.
“It’s like I can channel the spirit of Scott Joplin more closely than I would be able to otherwise … just being in the space he was in. Breathing the same air … touching the same things, perhaps, that he touched.”
After a visit to Scott Joplin’s home as a teenager, Martin was hooked.
“I got inspired and I asked for a summer job,” he said.
So, for the past five years, Martin has worked in the Joplin House, studying Joplin's music and learning about the man beyond the notes.
Martin said some of what he learned surprised him.
“People listen to this Black American music all over the world. But these musicians like Scott Joplin and his contemporaries had to die basically penniless for this music to exist. So I’m interested in telling these stories that have been obscured through time,” Martin said.
Things looked a lot different in St. Louis in the years leading up to the 1904 World's Fair.
Site Administrator of the Scott Joplin House, Almetta Jordan said, “A lot of different jobs came about just because the fair was going to be here. People moved from rural areas to the city … The city was just really crowded.”
To make room for new residents, some property owners looked into opportunities to house more renters.
“They divided and subdivided apartments that were two family flats to four family flats," Jordan said.
The historic Scott Joplin home became a boarding house destination for many black residents, like Scott Joplin in 1902. Jordan showed us a copy of a renter’s log with Joplin’s information documented.
“Scott Joplin lived here. This was his profession -- music … He was a renter and this gives the address,” she said.
Joplin stayed in the home for a few years and lived in other places around St. Louis. But the home on Delmar Boulevard is the only building left standing.
Like his works, surviving the test of time.
Martin graduated May 2022 from Berkeley College of Music with a degree in film scoring and composition.
At just 22 years old, his music has already aired on an HBO reunion special, a Hulu documentary mini-series, and soon, you’ll hear his work on a new Discovery Plus documentary.
Now, he is recording an album of Joplin’s works inside the Scott Joplin House.
He’s putting his own twist on each of the classic ragtime tunes.
Royce Martin said his upcoming album will be called "Memories on Morgan Street."
He said, “This street -- Delmar -- used to be called Morgan Street when Scott Joplin was living here. It’s an album of 12 of his compositions … He would have been crafting a couple of these tunes while he was here, living upstairs in his apartment.”
Martin feels young people today need to hear Joplin's music from the past.
“You learn where you come from to learn where you want to go,” he said.
“This album could be important for St. Louis culture. Generally, the city has a lot to be proud of and the more we shine light on things that we should be proud of, the better we are,” Martin said.
The historic Scott Joplin home is closed to the public until further noticed after the site was broken into in October, and several artifacts were damaged.
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