At the turn of the twentieth century, Scott Joplin struggled on the margins of society to play a pivotal role in the creation of ragtime music. His brief life and tragic death encompassed a tumultuous time of changes in modern music, culture, and technology. This biography follows Joplin's life from the brothels and bars of St. Louis to the music mills of Tin Pan Alley as he introduced a syncopated, lively style to classical piano.
Ray Argyle is an author, magazine writer and media consultant based in Kingston, Ontario.
His books include:
* The Boy in the Picture: the Craigellachie Kid and the Driving of the Last Spike.Natural Heritage, Dundurn Press, scheduled for publication August 2010. Tells the story of Young Edward Mallandaine, boy seen in famous photo of the driving of the Last Spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway. When Edward was a very old man and Ray a young boy, Ray knew him in his home town of Creston, B.C.
* Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime.McFarland Publishing, Jefferson, NC. May 2009. The rise of ragtime music in the context of a society changed by new technologies (record player, automobile, flight, telephone,cinema, mass media, radio).
* Turning Points: the Campaigns that Changed Canada.White Knight, Toronto, September 2004. Recounts the pivotal elections and political campaigns since Confederation in 1867.
* Turning Points e-edition, Revised with analysis of 2011 federal election, May 2011.
* Communications in the New Millennium. International Public Relations Association, London, England, June 1995
Ray contributes to a variety of publications, including The National Post, Canada's History (formerly The Beaver Magazine), and Reader's Digest.
Ray blogs at www.wildaboutwriting.com.Web site www.rayargyle.com.
Ray Argyle is an author who writes exceptionally fascinating stories on social and cultural change.
-- Neil Reynolds, The Globe and Mail, Oct. 1, 2008
