"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
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century.
Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...
.
After its introduction to the stage by 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, ...
in
1843, "Miss Lucy Long" was adopted by rival troupes.
George Christy
George N. Christy (born George Harrington) (November 6, 1827 – May 12, 1868) was one of the leading blackface performers during the early years of the blackface minstrel show in the 1840s.
Born in Palmyra, New York, his career began as a ...
's
cross-dressed interpretation standardized the portrayal of the title character and made the song a hit in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. "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
Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to:
United States history
* Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States
** Antebellum Georgia
** Antebellum South Carolina
** Antebellum Virginia
* 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
Events
January–March
* January
** Michael Alexander takes office, as the first appointee to the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem.
** American medical student William E. Clarke of Berkshire Medical College becomes the first pe ...
songster called ''Old American Songs''.
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 h ...
of 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, ...
later claimed the song in his autobiography: "I composed ... 'Miss Lucy Long' (the words by
T. G. Booth) in
1838."
Despite predating the minstrel show, "Miss Lucy Long" gained its fame there. The song was the first
wench
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