The Resume

(November 24, 1868-April 1, 1917)
Resided in Sedalia, Missouri
King of Ragtime
Composed the songs 'Maple Leaf Rag,' 'A Strenuous Life,' 'The Entertainer,' 'I am Thinking of My Pickanniny Days,' 'The Cascades,' 'The Chrysanthemum,' 'Rose Leaf Rag,' 'Wall Street Rag,' and 'Silver Swan Rag'
Wrote the operas 'A Guest of Honor' and 'Treemonisha'

Why he might be annoying:

Many of his song titles aren't very creative.
He worked as a pianist in saloons and brothels.
He is often credited as being the first publisher and the first black composer of ragtime, even though he was not.
He obsessed over his opera 'Treemonisha' and suffered a nervous breakdown because of it (1911).
His death did not make the newspaper headlines.
His music was used in the movie 'The Sting,' even though ragtime music was not popular during the 1930s when the movie took place.
Maya Rudolph portrayed him as a time-traveler in a series of bizarre sketches on 'Saturday Night Live.'

Why he might not be annoying:

Most of his songs are catchy, original, and memorable.
He was a musical prodigy at an early age.
He was bankrupted after an employee stole the box office receipts from his traveling opera company.
His most beloved wife died after two months of marriage.
Towards the end of his life, he suffered from syphilis, dementia, paranoia, and paralysis.
His hometown of Sedalia hosts an annual ragtime festival in his honor.
His music received an Academy Award for best score for 'The Sting' (1974).
He received a posthumous Pulitzer Prize (1976).

Credit: Call me Calvin

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Banjo Strummers
• Bankruptcy
• Black Heritage Commemorative Stamp Series (Ranked: 1983)
• Call me Calvin's Profiles
• Don't Say a Word
• Fiddlers
• Film Composers
• I am a Texan
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [H-L]
• I Contracted Syphilis [Some Rumored]
• I Died in 1917 (Ranked: 48)
• I Died on April Fool's Day - No Foolin' [April 1st] (Ranked: 1917)
• I Had a Nervous Breakdown
• I Married for Less than Two Years
• I Was Buried in a Pauper's Grave
• In Town for The World's Fair at the Columbian Exposition [1893-Chicago]
• Look at Me, I'm Postage
• Maya Rudolph Impersonations
• My Song is on Rhino's 'Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America'
• Opera Singers and Composers
• Profiles 13751-14000 (Ranked: 13966)
• Songs of the Century [2001] (Ranked: 10)
• The My Hero Project

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 81.82% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 14 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 22 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 19 Votes: 57.89% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 14 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 13 Votes: 76.92% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 33 Votes: 72.73% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 74 Votes: 60.81% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 48 Votes: 60.42% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 41 Votes: 53.66% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 155 Votes: 72.90% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 42 Votes: 47.62% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 59 Votes: 52.54% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 58 Votes: 55.17% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 165 Votes: 50.30% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 192 Votes: 46.35% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 313 Votes: 45.05% Annoying