''Rhythm For Sale'' is a 2013 biography of performer, choreographer, and director Leonard Harper. It was written by Grant Harper Reid, Harper's grandson. It was

self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...

by Reid on

CreateSpace On-Demand Publishing, LLC, doing business as CreateSpace, is a self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The company was founded in 2000 in South Carolina as BookSurge and was acquired by Amazon in 2005. History CreateSpace publishes books conta ...

. ''Rhythm For Sale'' has a total of 300 pages and the revised edition was published on August 11, 2014. The book chronicles Harper's rise from a child performer to Broadway's top black theater director. In 1921 the Schubert Brothers signed Harper with his partner and future wife Osceola Blanks to be the first Black act to tour the all-white Schubert circuit of theaters. In 1923 Harper showcased his cabaret floorshows and black musical comedies in Harlem's

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

and his mainstay

Connie's Inn Connie's Inn was a Harlem, New York City, nightclub established in 1923 by Connie Immerman ''(né'' Conrad Immerman; 1893–1967) in partnership with two of his brothers, George (1884–1944) and Louie Immerman (1882–1955). Having immigrated from ...

and the Lafayette Theater. The book details how Harper and black filmmaker

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and controlled ...

created the first all-black talkie motion picture ''

The Exile ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' in 1931. It covers his appearances at Harlem's

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

. ''Rhythm For Sale'' explores the decline of Harper's career as his work became limited to small Harlem nightclubs. His 1943 death from a heart attack while rehearsing his Harperettes chorus line is covered, as is his funeral at the

Abyssinian Baptist Church The Abyssinian Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch located at 132 West 138th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the National Baptist Conv ...

. On December 18, 2013, the Steve Vibert Pouchie Latin Jazz Ensemble held a book signing event for ''Rhythm For Sale'' at Don Coqui's restaurant in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

. On February 21, 2018, ''Rhythm For Sale'' won the Mid-Manhattan NAACP Branch Founder's Day Black History Month Book Award Winner.

References

External links

* {{cite news , title= Cosmopolitan Review: April 26 May 2 , author=Yvonne Delaney Mitchell , url=http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2018/apr/26/cosmopolitan-review-april-26-may-2/ , newspaper=

New York Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...

2013 non-fiction books Biographies about African-American people Biographies about actors CreateSpace books