Joplin Apotheosis

One good indication of the new regard in which Scott Joplin is held is the fact that RCA Victor has recently issued his complete piano works on their Red Seal label. Prior to this the Red Seal has been used almost exclusively for straight classical works. (Among the few exceptions are recordings of Enrico Caruso singing “Over There” and Fritz. Kreisler playing “Poor Butterfly.”) Dick Hyman is the pianist for the record set, and Rudi Blesh, the author of our article on Joplin (June, 1975), wrote the booklet that accompanies the records.