¹Maryland is the home state of Eubie Blake. ²Blake was a very famous African American musician who wrote and performed ragtime music, a kind of jazz. ³He was born on February 7, 1883, in Baltimore. ⁴Sometime around the age of four or five, Blake playing his family’s pump organ. ⁵Noticing his interest in music, his parents enrolled him in piano lessons. ⁶At the age of 15, against his mother’s wishes, Blake began playing ragtime piano in and around Balitmore. ⁷He continued to perform and met the most important musicians of his time. ⁸By partnering with some of these musicians, Blake created vaudeville acts and Broadway shows which were the source of his most famous songs. ⁹Among these shows was one of his more famous, “Shuffle Along.” ¹⁰When the ragtime era ended, Blake took a long, twenty-three year break from music. ¹¹However, at the age of 56, he returned to music, touring the world, playing piano, and lecturing about ragtime music. ¹²He lived to be one hundred years old and died on February 12, 1983.