YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE!!!!! Eubie Blake’s father, John Sumner Blake, was born into slavery on July 7, c. 1838, in Middlesex county, Virginia. Through his life, Blake idolized his father who he viewed as a “man’s man.” His charcoal-dark skin color stood out to the younger Blake, who noted that “My father was a …
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Gertrude Saunders
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE!!!!!! Shuffle Along’s two female leads, Lottie Gee and Gertrude Sanders, saw their careers boosted thanks to the show. They were given different types of tunes to perform to suit their different characters. Good-girl Gee performed “Love Will Find a Way” and “I’m Just Wild about Harry.” Modern woman Saunders’s songs …
“Good Night, Angeline”
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE!!! Sissle and Blake’s association with bandleader James Reese Europe introduced them to the world of music publishing. Europe had cowritten popular songs with several black lyricists throughout his career, and had a strong relationship with major publishers, including Julius Witmark and Sons. Upon returning from World War I, he and …
Josephine Baker
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE! When Shuffle Along opened in Boston (after its successful run in New York), The Boston American praised the production, singling out a “chorus girl who literally ‘walks off with the show’…not by mere beauty…but by her comedy dancing.” Although not cited by name, this clearly refers to the huge impression …
Miller and Lyles and Runnin’ Wild
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE After the great success of Shuffle Along, tensions developed between the creative team of Sissle and Blake and Miller and Lyles. Sissle had served more or less as the foursome’s voice with the show’s white producers; the comedians suspected that he was taking advantage of the situation, and taking a …
Michael Feinstein Raves About EUBIE BLAKE: RAGS, RHYTHM, AND RACE
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE!!!! We just heard from talented musical theater historian/performer Michael Feinstein, who has just finished reading our book, Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm, and Race. Here’s what he had to say: “Carlin and Bloom have created an all embracing and unique musical chronicle of Eubie Blake that is compelling, heartbreaking and ultimately …
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“See America First”
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE!!!! Sometime during the late spring and summer of 1915, Noble Sissle travelled to Baltimore where he was hired as a vocalist by Joe Porter’s Serenaders to replace another singer, Frank Brown, as Eubie recalled: “[Brown] used to be with [the Broadway composing/acting duo] Cole and Johnson, and he had a …
“Truckin’ on Down”: Working for W C Handy in the Mid-’30s
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE!!! In the mid-‘30s, Eubie took a job in the offices of music publisher W. C. Handy, working as an arranger as well as weeding through the submissions of would-be songwriters. He may have crossed paths with Handy’s secretary, Marion Tyler, who would later become Eubie’s second wife, although Blake did …
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Johnny Hudgins: “Unique and Extraordinary”
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF EUBIE!!! Comedian Johnny Hudgins was hired by the producers of Sissle and Blake’s Shuffle Along followup, In Bamville when it became apparent that the production needed additional comedic talent. Hudgins was a talented mime and eccentric dancer who had established himself by touring with several editions of the Town Scandals revue …
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