Tom Lemonier (March 29, 1870 — March 14, 1945) was an actor and composer of popular music during the ragtime era, particularly active in Black Vaudeville. His work featured in various musicals. Some of his work was published by the Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company. Numerous recordings of his songs were made including on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

and Columbia Records. In 1909 he joined the staff of music publisher Rose & Snyder. Lemonier became one of the first African-American actors to perform in a Caucasian play when in 1910 he was hired to play a steward in William A. Brady's production of ''Over Night''. Previously these characters had been performed in blackface. Lemonier's abilities and the positive reception he received convinced Brady to hire additional African-American actors for the role in touring versions of the show. Playbill notes him as a performer in the 1912 musical ''Little Miss Brown''. In addition to the original production, he was part of a national tour of this show. In 1915 Lemonier wrote the anthem, entitled ''Praise God We Are Not Weary'', for the

National Half Century Exposition and Lincoln Jubilee The National Half Century Exposition and Lincoln Jubilee, also known as the National Half Century Anniversary Exposition and The Lincoln Jubilee : 50th Anniversary Celebration, was held in Chicago from August 22 to September 16, 1915, and celebrat ...

. Lemonier collaborated with various other musicians and lyricists to produce compositions. In 1917, Lemonier established a sheet music business with

Lew Payton Lew Payton (June 27, 1874 – May 27, 1945) was an African American film actor, stage performer, and writer known for several films and stage productions including '' Chocolate Dandies'' with Josephine Baker, '' Smash Your Baggage'' (1932), ''Je ...

and Tom Brown. He appeared on radio station WGY in 1923 as a whistler. In 1926 he was concentrating entirely on sacred music.

Views on Civil rights

Lemonier opined that

Civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

should be acquired over a period of time, and that forcing the issue would generate hatred instead of progress.

List of selected compositions

*''Adopted Child'', with W. J. Carle, music; words by

Henry Creamer Henry Sterling Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was an African American popular song lyricist and theater producer. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, ...

. Recorded 1912 by Bob Roberts. *''Dear Old Moonlight'', music; words by Henry Creamer. Recorded by the

Peerless Quartet The Peerless Quartet was an American vocal group that recorded in the early years of the twentieth century. They formed to record for Columbia Records, where they were credited as the Columbia Quartet or Columbia Male Quartet. From about 1907, wh ...

. *''Good Afternoon, Mr. Jenkins'', music; words by Cecil Mack. Recorded 1901 by

George Walker George Walker may refer to: Arts and letters * George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer *George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer * George Walker (illustrator) (1781–1856), author of ''The Co ...

. *''Honey Lou'', music; lyrics by

Ed Rose Ed Rose is an American sound engineer and record producer. He has worked extensively with groups in the modern emo and pop punk scenes. He also co-owns Black Lodge Recording with Rob Pope and his brother Ryan Pope, members of the emo band The Ge ...

. Recorded 1908 by

Collins & Harlan Collins & Harlan, the team of American singers Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan, formed a popular comic duo between 1903 and 1926. They sang ragtime standards as well as what were known as "coon songs" – music sung by white performers in a bl ...

. Joel Whitburn estimates the Victor Records version was the sixth best selling recording of late January, 1909. *''I Wonder What Makes It Snow'', music; lyrics by Tom Brown. Recorded 1904 by Billy Murray. *''I'd Like to Be a Real Lady''. Recorded 1908 by Collins & Harlan. *''I'll Be Your Dewdrop Rosey'', music; words by Richard H. Gerard. Included in show "Foxy Grandpa", where originally performed by

Joseph Hart Joseph Hart (1711/12 – 24 May 1768) was a Calvinist minister in London. His works include ''Hart's Hymns'', a much-loved hymn book amongst evangelical Christians throughout its lifetime of over 200 years, which includes the well-known hy ...

and Carrie DeMar. *''I'm Just Barely Livin', Dat's All'', music; words by Harry Brown. Recorded 1904 by Bob Roberts. *''In My Old Home (in Dixie Land)'', music; words by Mord Allen. Performed by

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He is credited as being ...

. *''Is Everybody Happy?'' (1905) with

Ernest Hogan Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909) was the first African-American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show (''The Oyster Man'' in 1907) and helped to popularize the musical genre of ragtime. A native of ...

, music; words by Frank Williams. Included in musical play ''Rufus Rastus''. Recorded circa 1905 by Arthur Collins. *''Junie'', music; words by Cecil Mack. Recorded 1901 by George Walker. *''Just One Word of Consolation'', with Frank B. Williams. Recorded 1906 by

Harry Tally Harry Lee Tally (June 30, 1866 – August 16, 1939) was an American tenor singer of popular songs, who recorded between 1902 and 1917. Biography He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and began performing in a popular vaudeville act, the Empire ...

. Recorded 1911 by Will Oakland. Recorded 1928 by

Scrappy Lambert Harold "Scrappy" Lambert (May 12, 1901 – November 30, 1987, in New Brunswick, New Jersey) was an American Big band, dance band vocalist who appeared on hundreds of recordings from the 1920s to the 1940s. At Rutgers University he was a cheer ...

. Recorded 1936 by Bing Crosby. *''Lovie Dear'', music; words by Fred Bonny. Originally performed by Aida Overton Walker. *''Mary Ellen'', music; words by Alfred Bryan. Recorded 1904 by Billy Murray. *''Miss Hannah from Savannah'', music; words by Cecil Mack. Originally performed by Aida Overton Walker. *''My Cabin Door'', music; words by Grant Stewart. Originally performed by Hattie Williams and

Sam Bernard Sam Bernard (born Samuel Barnett, 5 June 1863 – 16 May 1927) was an English-born American vaudeville comedian who also performed in musical theatre, comic opera and burlesque and appeared in a few silent films. Life and career Bernard was bor ...

in musical production ''The Rollicking Girl'' *''My Dear Luzon'', music; words by Jesse A. Shipp. Featured in Broadway musical ''

In Dahomey ''In Dahomey: A Negro Musical Comedy'' is a landmark 1903 American musical comedy described by theatre historian Gerald Bordman as "the first full-length musical written and played by blacks to be performed at a major Broadway house."Bordman, G ...

''. *''Play That Rag'', music; words by Ed Rose. Recorded 1908 by Collins and Harlan. *''Sweetness'', music; words by Henry Creamer. Recorded 1910 by the Peerless Quartet. *''That Was Me'', music; words by Ed Rose. Recorded 1909 by Bob Roberts.Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Columbia matrix 4003. That was me / Bob Roberts," accessed September 30, 2021, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000139560/4003-That_was_me.

References

External links

* {{IMSLP, id=Lemonier, Tom Vaudeville performers African-American male actors African-American male composers 1870 births 1945 deaths