The
"Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered on 18 September 1899) is an early
ragtime musical composition for piano composed by
Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, and became the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers. It is one of the most famous of all ragtime pieces. As a result Joplin was called the "King of Ragtime". The piece gave Joplin a steady if unspectacular income for the rest of his life.