John Stillwell Stark was a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 publisher of ragtime

Ragtime

Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...

 music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

. He is best known for publishing and promoting the music of Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...

.

Stark was the eleventh of twelve children born to Adin Stark and Eleanor Stillwell Stark of Shelby County, Kentucky

Shelby County, Kentucky

Shelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 42,074. Its name is in honor of Isaac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky. Its county seat is Shelbyville...

. He grew up in Bean Blossom, Indiana, and served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the U.S. Civil War, where he played the bugle. He married Sarah Ann Casey and raised a family, earning his living as a farmer, first in Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 and then in Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 near Maysville

Maysville, Missouri

Maysville is a city in DeKalb County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,212 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of DeKalb County.Maysville is part of the St. Joseph, MO–KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

. Eventually he tired of farming and moved to Cameron

Cameron, Missouri

Cameron is a city in Clinton and DeKalb Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 8,312 at the 2000 census.The Clinton County portion of Cameron is part of the Kansas City, MO–KS Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the DeKalb County portion is part of the St...

, where he went into the new business of ice-cream making. After moving to Chillicothe

Chillicothe, Missouri

Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9,515 at the 2010 census. The name "Chillicothe" is Shawnee for "big town", and was named after their Chillicothe, located since 1774 about a mile from the present-day city.Chillicothe is...

, he supplemented his income by selling organs

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

 and piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

s. In 1885 he settled in Sedalia

Sedalia, Missouri

Sedalia is a city located about south of the Missouri River in Pettis County, Missouri. U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 65 intersect in the city. As of 2006, the city had a total population of 20,669. It is the county seat of Pettis County. The Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of...

 and entered the music business full-time, opening an office at 516 Ohio Street and founding John Stark and Son with his 15-year old son William. He got into the publishing business after buying out J. W. Truxel, one of his competitors, who owned seven copyrights.

It was in Sedalia that Stark heard Scott Joplin play The Maple Leaf Rag

Maple Leaf Rag

The "Maple Leaf Rag" is an early ragtime musical composition for piano composed by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, and is one of the most famous of all ragtime pieces, and became the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers. As a result Joplin was called the "King...

, and on August 10, 1899, he bought the number for fifty dollars plus royalties of one cent per copy. This is said to be the first time in history that a composer had earned royalties. It proved a prosperous arrangement for both men. After an initial printing of 5,000 copies, a million were eventually sold, which enabled Stark to open an office in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 (and, in 1905, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

) and Joplin to engage in composing for a living. Over the next two decades, Stark published and promoted the "classic" style rag

Classic Rag

Classic Rag is a term used to describe the style of ragtime composition pioneered by Scott Joplin and the Missouri school of ragtime composers...

 pioneered by Joplin with a lineup that included Joseph Lamb

Joseph Lamb

Joseph Francis Lamb was a noted American composer of ragtime music. Lamb, of Irish descent, was the only non-African American of the "Big Three" composers of classical ragtime, the other two being Scott Joplin and James Scott.-Life and Career:Lamb was born in Montclair, New Jersey...

, James Scott

James Scott (musician)

James Sylvester Scott was an African-American ragtime composer, regarded as one of the three most important composers of classic ragtime, along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb....

, Arthur Marshall

Arthur Marshall (ragtime composer)

Arthur Marshall was an African-American composer and performer of ragtime music.Marshall was born on a farm in Saline County, Missouri, but a few years later his family moved to Sedalia, Missouri...

, Paul Pratt, Artie Matthews

Artie Matthews

Artie Matthews was a songwriter, pianist, and ragtime composer.Artie Matthews was born in Braidwood, Illinois; his family moved to Springfield, Illinois in his youth. He learned to play piano, mostly popular songs and light classics, until he heard ragtime played by a pianist named Banty Morgan...

, Robert Hampton, J. Russel Robinson, and Etilmon J. Stark

Etilmon J. Stark

Etilmon Justus Stark was a prolific ragtime composer and arranger, the eldest son of ragtime publisher John Stark....

 (his son).

After his wife died in 1910, Stark closed his New York office and returned to St. Louis. By this time New York's Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...

 was dominating ragtime music sales. He continued to bring out new rags until 1922, well after ragtime had succumbed to jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, which Stark despised. He died in St. Louis on October 21, 1927.