Joplin's Ghost

by Tananarive Due

  Did I use the suggestion? Ultimately, no. Whether or not Scott Joplin was being channeled that day, my attitude remains the same: Thanks, dear sir, but I’ll do it my way.

  Sorry, Scott. But I hope you like the story you inspired anyway, wherever you are.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Edward A. Berlin, author of King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era (Oxford University Press, 1995), whose scholarship on Scott Joplin uncovered the existence of Freddie Alexander, Joplin’s ill-fated young bride. Thank you for your tireless research on Joplin and ragtime, and for your indulgence in reading several early chapters of this book. Any mistakes herein are the author’s responsibility, not yours. Read about more of his work at www.edwardaberlin.com.

  Thanks to the staff at the Scott Joplin House at 2658 Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis, particularly Steve Hinson, Chantelle Moten and former site administrator William F. Hall, for your hospitality and knowledge. Also, thanks to the new site administrator, Victoria Love. The work you do is vital in keeping the memory of Scott Joplin alive. See the website at www.mostateparks.com/scottjoplin.htm. (No, as far as I know, there is no ghost there.) Also, thanks to Jason D. Stratman at the Missouri Historical Society.

  Thanks to writer and pop culture guru Touré, for breaking it down. Thanks to Reginald R. Robinson, an extraordinary ragtime composer and performer—and winner of a 2004 MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant—for sharing your story and lovely compositions. Thanks to entertainment manager Jerome Martine. Thanks to Angelia Bibbs-Saunders at the Recording Academy. Thanks to psychic Jeffrey Wands, author of The Psychic in You: Understand and Harness Your Natural Psychic Power (Atria Books, 2004). And thanks to ghost-hunter Lawana Holland-Moore, at www.DCghosts.com.

  Thanks to researcher Kenya Mosley and music writer and author Bill Campbell. Thanks to Chris Webber and Karen Wilson, for the time I spent with your lovely Rosenkranz piano. Thanks to Michael and Sally M. Snell of Shade of the Cottonwood, L.L.C., for searching for an interview with Jan Hamilton Douglas so I could hear his ghost stories again. See a lovely photo of Jan Hamilton Douglas at Snell’s website at www.shadeofthecottonwood.com/Pages/a04.html.

  To Darryl Miller, for making a significant contribution as an advance reader—and who could change my mind even when Joplin’s ghost himself could not. And to Olympia Duhart, for her insights as an advance reader and her ongoing friendship.

  To novelist Lewis Shiner, for writing Glimpses (William Murrow, 1993) and Say Goodbye: The Laurie Moss Story (St. Martins Press, 1999). To Kathi Kamen Goldmark and Dave Barry, for giving me so many unforgettable experiences singing and playing keyboard during concerts with the Rock Bottom Remainders. Under her “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” Records label, Kathi also included me—along with Stephen King, Maya Angelou, Norman Mailer, and others—on the music CD Stranger Than Fiction. I sang Tina Turner’s version of “Proud Mary,” with the late Warren Zevon singing Ike Turner’s part. Check out the label’s site at www.dqydj.comprod15.htm.

  Thanks to my amazing husband, Steven Barnes, who compels me to be my best self and, most of all, to explore the places I am afraid to go.

  And to Mom, Dad, Johnita, Lydia, Nicki and Jason…always.

  Experience Joplin’s music for yourself in the following CDs I recommend: Scott Joplin: Piano Rags, recorded by pianist Johsua Rifkin for Nonesuch Records; and the Original Cast Recording of the Houston Grand Opera’s performance of Joplin’s surviving opera, Treemonisha. There are many other recordings to choose from, but those will get you started. Enjoy.