Why Is It Called Ragtime?

Ragtime (the term apparently derives from "ragged time," or syncopation) evolved in the late 19th century in the playing of honky-tonk pianists along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Where does the label ragtime come from?

Ragtime, the word, probably began life as a description of musical meter and certainly preceded the advent of the music of Joplin, Scott, and others. It was part of the late 19th century-lexicon to use "-time" as a suffix to describe a kind of music by the characteristics of its rhythm.

Who invented ragtime?

One of ragtime's inventors and most important pianists and composers was Scott Joplin. Since ragtime was conceived and developed before records were invented, it was "recorded" on piano rolls.