
Shuffle Along (1921) and Blackbirds of 1928 (1928) are both pioneering “black musicals,” though they have little in common except their all-black casts, a leading lady (Adelaide Hall) and the fact that both enjoyed game-changing success in their original Broadway productions at opposite ends of the Jazz Age. Shuffle Along opened May 23, 1921, ran for 484 performances and toured for years; it is recognized as the first significant Broadway book musical written by African-Americans – composer Eubie Blake, lyricist Noble Sissle and librettists Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. Blackbirds of 1928 opened almost seven years later (May 15, 1928), the inspiration of a white creative team led by impresario Lew Leslie. Leslie hired two young songwriters (composer Jimmy McHugh and lyricist Dorothy Fields, fresh from their first success writing for the Cotton Club in Harlem) to create a revue to showcase an all-black cast. Blackbirds of 1928 ran for a remarkable 518 performances, making it for many years to come the longest-running all-black show in Broadway history. But Broadway musicals began a steady evolution in the late 1920s, a process that quickly turned the quaint screwball silliness of Shuffle Along and the super-slick Blackbirds of 1928 into theatrical relics. Shuffle Along was revived without success in 1933 and 1952. Leslie mounted three subsequent editions of the Blackbirds franchise in 1930, 1933 and 1939, none of which achieved the success of the 1928 show, though it is interesting to note that Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds (1930) featured the participation of Eubie Blake and Flournoy Miller.
What has endured are the songs both shows introduced – most notably, “I’m Just Wild About Harry” from Shuffle Along and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” from Blackbirds of 1928. Inspired by Eubie Blake’s attempt to revive Shuffle Along in 1952, RCA Victor made a recording of four songs from the score for its “Show Time” series of 10-inch LPs, featuring new studio recordings of great songs from Broadway’s past. Blake conducted the recording and played the piano (as he had in 1921); band singer Thelma Carpenter and Avon Long (a noted Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess), who starred in the short-lived revival, share the solos. Also in the “Show Time” series, four songs from Blackbirds of 1928 were recorded the same year, with Carpenter joined this time by Cab Calloway and Lehman Engel conducting. Shortly thereafter, the two 10-inch LPs were coupled for reissue on a single disc, as they appear here.
Sadly, these are the most complete single recordings of either score, though individual sides were recorded and released (out of context, as pop records) in the 1920s by original cast members. What these brief recordings captured before it was too late is something of the original style and exuberance that made these two shows part of the Broadway zeitgeist of the 1920s. Shuffle Along and Blackbirds of 1928 themselves may be hopelessly dated theater, but the songs they introduced are timeless and unforgettable – representing nothing less than new voices and new sounds that would shape the destiny of that mainstay of modern American culture, the popular song. David Foil.
Label: Sony
Deborah Martin and Jill Haley Release 'INTO THE QUIET' Album
by Blair Ingenthron
- May 27, 2023
Into The Quiet is the second collaboration between electronic ambient visionary Deborah Martin and renowned English Horn player and Oboist Jill Haley. Their previous album was 2021's The Silence Of Grace, a pastoral collection that received numerous accolades including Zone Music Reporter's list of Top 20 albums of the year.
Sylvie Courvoisier & Cory Smythe Release New Album 'RITE OF SPRING - SPECTRE D'UN SONGE'
by Blair Ingenthron
- May 20, 2023
With The Rite of Spring – Spectre d’un songe, two of contemporary music’s most vital and innovative pianists – Sylvie Courvoisier and Cory Smythe – interpret and converse with one of the 20th century’s landmark compositions. On this breathtaking new recording, released May 19, 2023 from Pyroclastic Records, Courvoisier and Smythe perform Igor Stravinsky’s striking two-piano rendition of his iconic Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), followed by a bold new Courvoisier composition that draws inspiration from Stravinsky as a launchpad for investigatory improvisation.
THE GUAVA TREE, A New Bilingual Musical For Young Audiences, Releases Cast Album
by Blair Ingenthron
- May 20, 2023
The official cast album for The Guava Tree / El Guayabo, a new bilingual musical for young audiences, is available digitally on all platforms. With book and lyrics by Diana Grisanti and music by Emiliano Messiez, the musical premiered at the renowned Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado in 2021. It toured across the Southwest and was seen by more than 40,000 students.
Listen: Matthew Scott's THE JESUS YEAR: A LETTER FROM MY DAD Out Now
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- May 19, 2023
PS CLASSICS, the label dedicated to the heritage of Broadway and American popular song, has announced the release of the debut album from actor-singer Matthew Scott, who has been lighting up the Broadway stage since making his debut in Jersey Boys.
Author Mike McHale Launches Monthly #DinoDogzDonates Program
by Blair Ingenthron
- May 13, 2023
Mystery Mike McHale and DinoDogz have announced the launch of their new fundraising program, DinoDogz has previously raised funds for various charities including WORTHY OF LOVE, TUESDAY'S CHILDREN and BELLA AND BUDDIES ANIMAL RESCUE through the sales of their first book DinoDogz: Eggzellent Adventure which is the first in a series.
Video: Patrick Pacheco Opens Up About Putting Pen to Paper with Chita Rivera
by Backstage Live with Richard Ridge
- May 09, 2023
She was born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero—until the entertainment world renamed her. But Dolores—the irreverent side of the sensual, dark and ferocious Chita—was always present center stage, and was influential in creating some of Broadway most iconic and acclaimed roles, including Anita in West Side Story‚ the part that made her a star—Rosie in Bye Bye, Birdie, Velma in Chicago, and Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. In this video, watch as co-author Patrick Pacheco chats with Richard Ridge about the new memoir!
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