<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <Ul> <Li> Jazz </Li> <Li> boogie woogie </Li> <Li> country </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> Jazz </Li> <Li> boogie woogie </Li> <Li> country </Li> </Ul> <P> Ragtime--also spelled rag - time or rag time--is a musical style that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1918 . Its cardinal trait is its syncopated, or "ragged", rhythm . </P> <P> The style has its origins in African - American communities in cities such as St. Louis . Ernest Hogan (1865--1909) was a pioneer of ragtime and was the first composer to have his ragtime pieces (or "rags") published as sheet music, beginning with the song "La Pas Ma La", published in 1895 . Hogan has also been credited for coining the term ragtime . The term is actually derived from his hometown "Shake Rag" in Bowling Green, Kentucky . Ben Harney, another Kentucky native, has often been credited for introducing the music to the mainstream public . His first ragtime composition, "You've Been a Good Old Wagon But You Done Broke Down", helped popularize the style . The composition was published in 1896, a few months after Ernest Hogan's "La Pas Ma La ." Ragtime was also a modification of the march style popularized by John Philip Sousa, with additional polyrhythms coming from African music . Ragtime composer Scott Joplin (ca . 1868--1917) became famous through the publication of the "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899) and a string of ragtime hits such as "The Entertainer" (1902), although he was later forgotten by all but a small, dedicated community of ragtime aficionados until the major ragtime revival in the early 1970s . For at least 12 years after its publication, "Maple Leaf Rag" heavily influenced subsequent ragtime composers with its melody lines, harmonic progressions or metric patterns . </P>

When did ragtime flourished in the united states