Smith had received several major fingerstyle and thumbpicking distinctions before the viral performance. He took first place at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in Kansas in 2001. The National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame named him Thumbpicker of the Year in 2008 and inducted him in 2009. Two years later, the Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists awarded him its Golden Thumbpick Award.

Scott Joplin wrote “The Entertainer” in 1902 as a piano rag, giving it the subtitle “A Rag Time Two Step.” It was originally distributed in sheet-music form. In 1903, songwriter and journalist Monroe H. Rosenfeld judged it to be Joplin’s best composition. He characterized it as an original, jingling work whose memorable sections could set feet moving and remain fixed in the listener’s ear.

Pianola rolls of “The Entertainer” went on sale beginning in 1910, making the piece available for player pianos. The Blue Boys made its first recording in 1928. Public attention returned to the rag and other Joplin compositions after Joshua Rifkin released “Scott Joplin: Piano Rags” during the 1970s.

The composition became widely recognized around the world through “The Sting,” the 1973 film featuring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Soundtrack composer Marvin Hamlisch adapted the piece slightly for the movie. In 1974, the soundtrack received the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation. The movie arrangement was also released as a single, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard chart. The Recording Industry Association of America ranked “The Entertainer” as the twentieth century’s tenth-best song, and it is commonly used by ice cream trucks in the United States.