Ragtime, one of the first forms of black music

Ragtime introduced mainstream America to the simple but radical trick of syncopation in rhythm – that displacement of the beat which causes a propulsion, a swinging of the hips, a feeling that anything might happen. Joplin's innovations in ragtime laid the foundation for much of 20th century American music: first blues, jazz and swing, then R&B and rock-and-roll. Nothing would ever be the same again. "Nothing would ever be the same again!" Ragtime Honky Tonk Piano