Harry Herbert Pace (January 6, 1884 – July 19, 1943) was an American

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

and

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

executive. He was the founder of

Black Swan Records Black Swan Records was an American jazz and blues record label founded in 1921 in Harlem, New York. It was the first widely distributed label to be owned, operated, and marketed to African Americans. (Broome Special Phonograph Records was the firs ...

, the first record label owned by an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

with wide distribution capabilities.

Early life

Harry Pace was born in

Covington, Georgia Covington is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the seat of Newton County, and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, its population 14,113. History Covington was founded by European immigrants to the United ...

. According to a 1917 biography Pace's "Grandfather was brought from Virginia to Georgia during the days of slavery, but was

manumitted Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that ...

by his master, to whom he was related." There is little known about his parents. He finished elementary school at the age of twelve.

Career

Pace enrolled at

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...

and found work as a

printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Ambrose Bierce, Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain served ...

to pay his way through school. However, after learning that white employees were earning more than black employees, Pace left the job and began working odd jobs on campus instead. It was at Atlanta University that Pace met W. E. B. Du Bois, who was one of his teachers. Pace graduated

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of his class in 1903. He was 19 years old. After receiving a degree, Pace went into the printing business with W. E. B. Du Bois in Memphis. Two years later they put together the short-lived magazine ''The Moon Illustrated Weekly''. In 1912, Pace met and collaborated with

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

, who took a liking to him; they wrote songs together. In Memphis, Pace also met and married Ethylene Bibb. Pace and Handy founded the Pace and Handy Music Company, which brought Pace to New York City. Around 1920, the company began working with composers

William Grant Still William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, over thirty choral works, plus art songs, chamber music and works fo ...

and

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...

. Although the company did well, their business consisted largely of writing and selling sheet music to be played at home, commonly called parlour music. Pace saw the growing popularity of the

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

would shift the music business as it reached a wider audience. Handy had no interest in changing the business and Pace resigned. In 1917, Pace, along with

James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peop ...

, Dr. Charles S. Johnson, Dr. Louis T. Wright and

Walter Francis White Walter Francis White (July 1, 1893 – March 21, 1955) was an American civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for a quarter of a century, 1929–1955, after joining the organi ...

, chartered the Atlanta Branch of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. In 1921, then living in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, Pace established

. On the recommendation of W. E. B. Du Bois, the label was named for singer

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield (1809 – March 31, 1876), dubbed "The Black Swan" (a play on Jenny Lind's sobriquet, "The Swedish Nightingale), was an American singer considered the best-known black concert artist of her time. She was lauded by ...

, who was called "the Black Swan." At the time of the establishment of the label, Pace declared They had offices in the Gaiety Theatre office building in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

.Ken Bloom, ''Broadway: An Encyclopedia'', Routledge; 2nd edition (November 11, 2003).
Pace also set up a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

in the basement of his

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...

. For his record company, Pace brought in Henderson as recording manager and Still as arranger. His first releases featured performances of light classical music, blues, spirituals, and instrumental solos. Black Swan’s first hit was a recording of " Down Home Blues" and " Oh, Daddy", sung by

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her not ...

. Although Pace recorded many outstanding artists, the business failed and Pace was forced to declare bankruptcy in December 1923. A few months later, he sold Black Swan to

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...

. In 1925, Pace founded the Northeastern Life Insurance Company in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to attend the

Chicago-Kent College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

; he received his degree in 1933. Around this time, he began passing for White and opened a law firm in downtown Chicago in 1942. His progeny would not discover his African ancestry until well after his death. Pace died on July 19, 1943, in Chicago, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

Legacy

Pace is featured on the documentary series ''

Profiles of African-American Success ''Profiles of African-American Success'' is an American documentary web series produced by Frances Presley-Rice and filmmaker Bayer Mack for their production company Block Starz Music Television. The documentary series features short biographi ...

''. In 2021, Pace was profiled in

Jad Abumrad Jad Nicholas Abumrad ( ar, جاد نيكولاس أبومراد; born April 18, 1973) is an American radio host, composer, and producer. He is the founder and former host of the syndicated public radio program ''Radiolab'' with Latif Nasser and ...

and Shima Oliaee's

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

''The Vanishing of Harry Pace'' on ''

Radiolab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first off ...

''. In the series Harry Pace's descendants as well as scholars are interviewed. Harry Pace's great-grandson Eric Pace and his wife

Candace Edwards Candace Migail Edwards (born 16 November 1988) is a Tobagonian footballer who played as a midfielder and a forward. She has been a member of the Trinidad and Tobago women's national team, and is record holding, two-time All-American collegiate ...

are featured on episode 3 in which they discuss their musical project "THE PACES".

References

* Miles, J. H., Davis, J. J., Ferguson-Roberts, S. E., and Giles, R. G. (2001). ''Almanac of African American Heritage''. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall Press. * Potter, J. (2002). ''African American Firsts''. New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corp.

External links

Black Swan Records founder Harry Pace, an original!
The African American Registry.
"The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records"
Weusi, Jitu K. (2001).
Radiolab - the vanishing of Harry Pace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pace, Harry American music industry executives 1884 births 1943 deaths People from Covington, Georgia Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni Atlanta University alumni Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) African-American company founders NAACP activists 20th-century African-American people