Blacks in Blackface

A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows, 2 Volumes, Second Edition

Henry T. Sampson

Published in 1980, Blacks in Blackface was the first and most extensive book up to that time to deal exclusively with every aspect of all-African American musical comedies performed on the stage between 1900 and 1940. An invaluable resource for scholars and historians focused on African American culture, this new edition features significantly revised, expanded, and new material.

In Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows, Henry T. Sampson provides an unprecedented wealth of information on legitimate musical comedies, including show synopses, casts, songs, and production credits. Sampson also recounts the struggles of African American performers and producers to overcome the racial prejudice of white show owners, music publishers, theatre managers, and booking agents to achieve adequate financial compensation for their talents and managerial expertise. Black producers and artists competed with white managers who were producing all-Black shows and also with some white entertainers who were performing Black-developed music and dances, often in blackface.

The chapters in this volume include:

An overview of African American musical shows from the end of the Civil War through the golden years of the 1920s and ’30s
New and expanded biographical sketches of performers
Detailed information about the first producers and owners of Black minstrel and musical comedy shows
Origins and backgrounds of several famous Black theatres
Profiles of African American entrepreneurs and businessmen who provided financial resources to build and own many of the Black theatres where these shows were performed
A chronicle of booking agencies and organized Black theatrical circuits, music publishing houses, and phonograph recording businesses
Critical commentary from African American newspapers and show business publications
More than 500 hundred rare photographs

A comprehensive volume that covers all aspects of Black musical shows performed in theatres, nightclubs, circuses, and medicine shows, this edition of Blacks in Blackface can be used as a reference for serious scholars and researchers of Black show business in the United States before 1940. More than double the size of the previous edition, this useful resource will also appeal to the casual reader who is interested in learning more about early Black entertainment.

Scarecrow Press

Pages: 1576 •

978-0-8108-8351-2 • eBook • October 2013 • $300.00 • (£231.00)

Subjects: Performing Arts / Theater / History & Criticism, Performing Arts / Theater / General, Drama / American / General, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies, Drama / American / African American

Blacks in Blackface

A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows, 2 Volumes, Second Edition

eBook

Summary

Published in 1980, Blacks in Blackface was the first and most extensive book up to that time to deal exclusively with every aspect of all-African American musical comedies performed on the stage between 1900 and 1940. An invaluable resource for scholars and historians focused on African American culture, this new edition features significantly revised, expanded, and new material.

In Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows, Henry T. Sampson provides an unprecedented wealth of information on legitimate musical comedies, including show synopses, casts, songs, and production credits. Sampson also recounts the struggles of African American performers and producers to overcome the racial prejudice of white show owners, music publishers, theatre managers, and booking agents to achieve adequate financial compensation for their talents and managerial expertise. Black producers and artists competed with white managers who were producing all-Black shows and also with some white entertainers who were performing Black-developed music and dances, often in blackface.

The chapters in this volume include:
- An overview of African American musical shows from the end of the Civil War through the golden years of the 1920s and ’30s
- New and expanded biographical sketches of performers
- Detailed information about the first producers and owners of Black minstrel and musical comedy shows
- Origins and backgrounds of several famous Black theatres
- Profiles of African American entrepreneurs and businessmen who provided financial resources to build and own many of the Black theatres where these shows were performed
- A chronicle of booking agencies and organized Black theatrical circuits, music publishing houses, and phonograph recording businesses
- Critical commentary from African American newspapers and show business publications
- More than 500 hundred rare photographs
A comprehensive volume that covers all aspects of Black musical shows performed in theatres, nightclubs, circuses, and medicine shows, this edition of Blacks in Blackface can be used as a reference for serious scholars and researchers of Black show business in the United States before 1940. More than double the size of the previous edition, this useful resource will also appeal to the casual reader who is interested in learning more about early Black entertainment.

Details

Scarecrow Press

Pages: 1576 •

978-0-8108-8351-2 • eBook • October 2013 • $300.00 • (£231.00)

Subjects: Performing Arts / Theater / History & Criticism, Performing Arts / Theater / General, Drama / American / General, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies, Drama / American / African American

Author

Henry T. Sampson is the author of several books on African-American culture, including Blacks in Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films, Second Edition (1995), That’s Enough Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960 (1998), and Swingin’ on the Ether Waves: A Chronological History of African Americans in Radio and Television Programming, 1925-1955 (2005), all published by Scarecrow Press.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Early Black Musical Shows: Historical Overview
Chapter Two: Pioneering Black Entrepreneurs in Show Business
Chapter Three: Pioneer Black Show Producers
Chapter Four: Famous Black Theatres
Chapter Five: Reviews of Vaudeville, Tabloid, Road Shows, Burlesque and Negro Orchestra and Comment, 1900-1940
Chapter Six: Cabaret and Night Club Reviews
Chapter Seven: Reviews of Negro Musical Comedy Shows 1910-1940
Chapter Eight: Black Musical Comedy Shows: Cast of Characters and Synopsis
Chapter Nine: Negro Performers in Carnival, Exposition, Medicine, Circus Annex and Minstrel Shows: 1910-1940
Chapter Ten: Blacks in Blackface
Appendix A: Partial List of Black Vaudeville, Road Shows, and Burlesque Acts Traveling over Major Theatrical Circuits 1910-1940
Appendix B: Theatre Owners Who Were Original Members of T.O.B.A. in 1920
Appendix C: Routings on the T. O. B. A. Circuit, October 1926
Appendix D: Partial List of Theatres Owned and Operated by Blacks, 1910-1930
Appendix E: Typical T. O. B. A. Show Contract of the Late 1920s
Appendix F: Partial List of Acts Playing the S.H. Dudley Circuit, November 1914
Appendix G: Alphabetical List of Negro Musical Comedies and Tab Shows1910-1940
Appendix H: Thirty Songs Written by Black Composers Published by Pace and Handy Music Co. Inc.
Appendix I: Partial List of Colored Fairs-1921
Appendix J: Partial List of U.S. Black Newspapers, 1900-1940
Index
About the Author

Reviews

Some 30 years have elapsed since publication of the first edition of this work. Intending to give greater coverage to the hundreds of black musical shows beyond the few described in standard references, independent scholar Sampson has done a remarkable job. This new volume is nearly triple the size of the previous edition. A companion to the author's The Ghost Walks, which examines the period 1865-1910, this sourcebook deals with black musical theater, nightclubs, vaudeville, and other venues for the 1900-40 period. It has been revised and expanded in all directions, offering material on the business side of black show business, including producers, entrepreneurs, and theaters; synopses of shows; and biographical entries for hundreds of actors and comedians. . . . [S]ources provide significant treatments. Much of the space in this two-volume sourcebook is devoted to reviews of musical comedy shows, nightclub shows, and other performances as covered in various black newspapers and industry publications of the time, with heavy dependence on the Indianapolis Freeman and Billboard. Additional material details circuses and minstrel shows. Rare photos supplement the entries and provide visual documentation. Sampson has done a fine job of pulling together source material for this vital reference on the history of the black entertainment industry. Summing Up: Essential. All academic libraries; lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.
— Choice Reviews

Sampson in Blacks in Blackface focuses on African American musical entertainment between 1900 and 1940. The range of genres is fascinating, including vaudeville and nightclub acts but also minstrel shows, medicine shows, circus sideshows, carnivals, and other forms of variety. Rather than critically analyzing the era, Sampson lets the contemporary commentators speak for themselves through hundreds of brief reviews almost exclusively from the African American press from across the United States. As an introduction to forgotten performers or a reminder of the greats of this period, the reviews are eminently browsable and often illuminate the difficulties black performers had getting and keeping jobs at that time. Each chapter gathers reviews on a specialized topic, such as black theatres or cabarets, and a series of appendixes list shows, theatres, and routings for the TOBA and Dudley Circuits, the main avenues for black performers before World War II. Black-and-white photographs are scattered throughout the volumes. . . .Sampson is an excellent primary sourcebook for African American musical entertainment that will be a fine addition for all large academic and public libraries.
— American Reference Books Annual