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Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a popular and diverse means of entertainment that blew up in the 1890s and stuck around until the 1930s. Vaudeville brought together multiple acts from musical numbers, dancing, and comedy sketches almost like a circus. Early Vaudeville subjected African American artists to part take in racist skits. -
First African American Recording Artist
In 1890 George W. Johnson became the first African American recording artist. Johnson was a former slave and was founded singing in the streets of Washington D.C by Fred Gaisberg a Berliner Agent. -
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Ragtime
Ragtime music had a lively and springy sound which made it ideal for dancing. The name ragtime came from is ragged and often rhythmically broken melodies. Ragtime developed in African American communities spread across the south. -
Ernest Hogan
Ernest Hogan was a vaudeville star and a pioneer of ragtime. Ernest Hogan also became the very first African American to produce and perform in a Broadway show. Hogan wouldn't shoot to true stardum until he made his hit "All Coons Look Like Me". -
Scott Joplin "King of Ragtime"
Scott Joplin was an American pianist and composer. Scott Joplin learned how to play the piano as a youth. Joplin traveled through the midwest in the mid-1880s performing his art. In 1895 he studied music at the George R. Smith college for Negros. Joplin's first published songs brought him to fame. -
W.C. Handy
W.C. Handy was a very influential American songwriter. Handy was a Blues musician and Handy is even credited with giving Blues its contemporary form. Handy would start his musical journey by learning how to play the cornet as a teenager. By the age of 19 Handy was teaching music. Handy toured with Maharas Minstrels and performed at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Handy went all the way to Cuba and picked up Latin rhythm used in the tango section of "St.Louis Blue." -
Jazz
With brass bands becoming more and more popular in parades and other celebrations. The combination of brass and wind instruments with a drums fast rythem gave birth to Jazz music. A fast music for dancing shook the the south espicailly new orleans. -
Maple Leaf Rag
Scott Joplin created a masterpiece fitting for the ragtime era. Maple Leaf Rag was a piece that made Joplin "King of Ragtime". Joplin also composed multiple shorts, classical pieces, and even played in operas. -
Dixieland
Dixieland originated in New Orleans, it incorporated ragtime and marching band attributes. Using the trumpets, clarinet, and the trombone as the frontline instruments. -
The Blues
The Blues has lyrics filled with hardships and the frustrations of the human soul, even sometimes overcoming these hardships. The Blues originated from southern plantations. The mixing of African spirituals, hyms, and many more attributes birthed the sound of The Blues. A lot of artists played the blues during the 1800s but most of their songs died with them. By the 1920s The Blues became very populare int the south.
