Along with being a massive commercial and critical hit, 1973’s The Sting also contributed to a renewed interest in ragtime music, including the movie’s theme, a lightly adapted version of “The Entertainer” by Marvin Hamlisch. Originally copyrighted in 1902, the song was written by ragtime legend Scott Joplin. In 1970, Nonesuch, a classic record label, released Scott Joplin: Piano Rags, which sold over a million copies and was nominated for two Grammy Awards. For The Sting, composer Marvin Hamlisch made some slight changes and recorded a new orchestration of the song, which won him a Grammy and an Oscar. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, under “The Streak” and “Dancing Machine,” and was #1 on the “Top LP & Tape” chart from Billboard. It was a bit too early for music videos, but you can listen to the Hamlisch version of “The Entertainer” below.
