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Billy Whitlock
William M. Whitlock (1813 – 1878) was an American blackface performer. He began his career in entertainment doing blackface banjo routines in circuses and dime shows, and by 1843 he was well known in New York City. He is best known for his role in forming the original minstrel show troupe, the Virginia Minstrels. Early career Whitlock was born in New York City in 1813. He worked as a typesetter for a religious journal, then went to work for the '' New York Herald''. Whitlock claimed to have met America's pre-eminent banjoist, Joel Sweeney, in 1838 and to have taken some banjo lessons from him. He joined P. T. Barnum's circus in 1839, where he began his blackface act. By 1840, Whitlock was performing circuses, museums, and variety shows and had taken the epithet "King of Banjo players, and the Emperor of Extravaganza Singers". He paired with John Diamond for a time, playing banjo and singing while Diamond danced. Frank Lynch eventually replaced Diamond, though he took ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the List of United States cities by population density, most densely populated major city in the United States, and is more than twice as populous as second-place Los Angeles. New York City lies at the southern tip of New York (state), New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous Megacity, megacities, and over 58 million people live within of the city. New York City is a global city, global Culture of New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Clipper
The ''New York Clipper'', also known as ''The Clipper'', was a weekly entertainment newspaper published in New York City from 1853 to 1924. It covered many topics, including circuses, dance, music, the outdoors, sports, and theatre. It had a circulation of about 25,000. The publishers also produced the yearly ''New York Clipper Annual''. In 1924, ''The Clipper'' was absorbed into the entertainment journal ''Variety''. History Frank Queen began publishing the ''New York Clipper'' in 1853, making it the first American paper devoted entirely to entertainment; the paper eventually shortened its name to ''The Clipper''. The paper was one of the earliest publications in the United States to regularly cover sports, and it played an important role in popularizing baseball in the country. In addition to more popular sporting events, the ''New York Clipper'' also wrote about billiards, bowling, even chess. It began covering American football in 1880. In 1894, however, ''The Clipper'' d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cool White
John Hodges (July 28, 1821RICE, Edward L., ''Monarchs of Minstrelsy'', 1910 – April 23, 1891); known as Cool White, was an American blackface minstrel entertainer, who wrote or popularized the song "Buffalo Gals", published by him in 1844 under the title "Lubly Fan". There is some dispute as to whether he composed the tune or adapted a traditional air. Career Hodges's stage name was "Cool White". He debuted in Pennsylvania in 1838, at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphiahttp://www.circushistory.org/Cork/BurntCork4.htm BROWN, Col. T. Allson, ''EarlyNegro Minstrelsy'' and specialized in "dandy" roles: in 1842 he was a particular hit as a character called "Fancy Cool" in Silas S. Steele's ''Philadelphia Assurance''. In 1843 he organized the Virginia Serenaders and later a troupe called the Sable Melodists. He later performed as a 'Shakespearian clown' with Spalding and Rogers Circus. From about 1855-59 he appeared with Sam Sanford's Minstrels in Philadelphia. In the 1860s an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Wooldridge
George B. Wooldridge was the business manager of the first blackface minstrel troupe, the Virginia Minstrels The Virginia Minstrels or Virginia Serenaders was a group of 19th-century American entertainers who helped invent the entertainment form known as the minstrel show. Led by Dan Emmett, the original lineup consisted of Emmett, Billy Whitlock, Dic ..., in the mid-19th century. He sometimes went by the name Tom Quick. References Day, Charles (1996). "Fun in Black". ''Inside the Minstrel Mask: Readings in Nineteenth-Century Blackface Minstrelsy.'' Hanover, New Hampshire: Wesleyan University Press. Blackface minstrel managers and producers Year of death missing Year of birth missing {{theat-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.24 million. On the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, Liverpool historically lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in the county of Lancashire. It became a borough in 1207, a city in 1880, and a county borough independent of the newly-created Lancashire County Council in 1889. Its growth as a major port was paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, and raw materials such as coal and cotton, merchants were involved in the slave trade. In the 19th century, Liverpool was a major port of departure for English and Irish emigrants to North America. It was also home to both the Cunard and White Star Lines, and was the port of registry of the ocean li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christy's Minstrels
Christy's Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, a well-known ballad singer, in 1843, in Buffalo, New York. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel show into a fixed three-act form. The troupe also invented or popularized "the line", the structured grouping that constituted the first act of the standardized three-act minstrel show, with the interlocutor (music), interlocutor in the middle and "Mr. Tambo" and "Mr. Bones" on the ends. Early years In 1846 they first performed in Polmer's Opera House in New York City. From March 1847, they ran for a seven-year stint at New York City's Mechanics' Hall, New York City, Mechanics' Hall (until July 1854). After performing at a benefit performance for Stephen Foster in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 25, 1847, the group specialized in performances of Foster's works. Foster sold his song "Old Folks at Home" to Christy for his exclusive use. The tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss Lucy Long
"Miss Lucy Long", also known as "Lucy Long" as well as by other variants, is an American song that was popularized in the blackface minstrel show. After its introduction to the stage by the Virginia Minstrels in 1843, "Miss Lucy Long" was adopted by rival troupes. George Christy's cross-dressed interpretation standardized the portrayal of the title character and made the song a hit in the United States. "Miss Lucy Long" became the standard closing number for the minstrel show, where it was regularly expanded into a comic skit complete with dialogue. Versions were printed in more songsters and performed in more minstrel shows than any other popular song in the antebellum period. In blackface minstrelsy, the name Lucy came to signify any sexually promiscuous woman. History The first published edition of "Miss Lucy Long" is uncredited in an 1842 songster called ''Old American Songs''. Billy Whitlock of the Virginia Minstrels later claimed the song in his autobiography: "I com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stump Speech (minstrelsy)
The stump speech was a comic monologue from blackface minstrelsy (which is an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface). A typical stump speech consisted of malapropisms (the substitution of a word for a word with a similar sound), nonsense sentences, and puns delivered in a parodied version of Black Vernacular English. The stump speaker wore blackface makeup and moved about like a clown. Topics varied from pure nonsense to parodies of politics, science, and social issues. Although both the topic itself and the black character's inability to comprehend it served as sources of comedy to white people, minstrels used such speeches to deliver racist social commentary. The stump speech was a precursor to modern stand-up comedy. Performance The stump speech was usually the highlight of the ''olio'', the minstrel show's second act. The stump speaker, typically one of the buffoonish endmen known as '' Tambo'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bowery Amphitheatre
The Bowery Amphitheatre was a building in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City. It was located at 37 and 39 Bowery, across the street from the Bowery Theatre. Under a number of different names and managers, the structure served as a circus, menagerie, theatre, a roller rink, and a branch of the Peniel Mission. The site is now part of Confucius Plaza. Formation through the minstrel craze A group of New York businessmen known as the Zoological Institute or the Flatfoots built the structure in 1833 as the site for a menagerie and circus performances. In 1835, the site was converted into an amphitheatre with a stage and a circus ring, and the name changed to the Bowery Amphitheatre. June, Titus, Angevine & Co. took up residence with their equestrian show. The owners changed the name again in November 1842 to the Amphitheatre of the Republic. John Tryon leased the building the following year, remaining its operator until 1848. Following a performance by the Virginia Minstrels on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head. Tambourines are often used with regular percussion sets. They can be mounted, for example on a stand as part of a drum kit (and played with drum sticks), or they can be held in the hand and played by tapping or hitting the instrument. Tambourines come in many shapes with the most common being circular. It is found in many forms of music: Turkish folk music, Greek folk music, Italian folk music, French folk music, classical music, Persian music, samba, gospel music, pop music, country music, and rock music. History The origin of the tambourine is unknown, but it appears in historical writings as early as 1700 BC and was used by ancient musicians in West Africa, the Middle East, Greece and India. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Pelham
Richard Ward "Dick" Pelham (February 13, 1815 – October 1876), born Richard Ward Pell, was an American blackface performer. He was born in New York City. Pelham regularly did blackface acts in the early 1840s both solo and as part of a duo or trio. His early performances were in the mould of Thomas D. Rice; he did song-and-dance versions of "Gumbo Chaff" and " Oh Pshaw!", among others. His brother, Gilbert Pelham, paired with him for part of his early career. The song " Massa Is a Stingy Man" became their trademark tune. Pelham was also a renowned dancer; by 1845, he was ranked so highly that William Henry Lane did an impression of him. In 1843, Pelham became one of the founding members of the Virginia Minstrels, the first group to present a full minstrel show during a performance at the New York Bowery Amphitheatre on February 6, 1843. Through April 1843, he played tambourine as the Virginia Minstrels toured New York City and Boston. Pelham's style was something new for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bones (instrument)
The bones, also known as rhythm bones, are a folk instrument that, in their original form, consists of a pair of animal bones, but may also be played on pieces of wood or similar material. Sections of large rib bones and lower leg bones are the most commonly used bones, although wooden sticks shaped like true bones are now more often used. Metal spoons may be used instead, as is common in the United States, known as " playing the spoons". The technique probably arrived in the U.S. via Irish and other European immigrants, and has a history stretching back to ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. They have contributed to many music genres, including 19th century minstrel shows, traditional Irish and Scottish music, the blues, bluegrass, zydeco, French-Canadian music, and music from Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. The clacking of the loose rib bones produces a much sharper sound than the zydeco washboard or frottoir, which mimics rattling a bone up and down a fixed ribcage. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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