Name the American composer born in Texas in 1867, who wrote Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer.

• A. Duke Ellington
• B. Louis Armstrong
• C. George Gershwin
• D. Scott Joplin

Answer: (A)

Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer are iconic ragtime piano pieces written by Scott Joplin, who became the defining figure of ragtime. He was born in Texarkana, Texas, in the late 1860s (commonly cited as 1868, with some sources listing 1867). Ragtime is marked by its syncopated rhythms and jaunty, interlocking right- and left-hand patterns, qualities that Joplin fused into his popular works and helped bring this style to a wider audience at the turn of the century. The other names listed are associated with different genres: Duke Ellington with jazz composition and big-band leadership, Louis Armstrong with trumpet performance and influence on jazz, and George Gershwin with classical-pop crossover pieces like Rhapsody in Blue. The composer connected to these two famous ragtime pieces is Scott Joplin.