Tom Turpin

Life and music

Tom Turpin was a ragtime musician and businessman whose Rosebud Bar helped make St Louis a gathering place for performers, including Scott Joplin. Born in Savannah, he moved with his family to St Louis in the early 1880s. The State Historical Society of Missouri treats his birth year as uncertain and identifies Harlem Rag as an important early African American publication.

Pieces in the Music Room

The ragtime corner

• The Harlem RagWith Maestro
• The St. Louis RagWith Maestro