Willis J. Accooe (1874 – April 26, 1904) was an American performing musician and composer, mainly of musicals. He was "an important songwriter during the birth of the black musical" according to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

website.

Life and career

He was born in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

to preacher John Harris Accooe and Anna Accooe. He married fellow musician and performer Alice Mackey. He studied at Princess Anne Academy in Maryland. He played organ at the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, and his composition ''Tennessee Centennial March'' proved greatly successful. Accooe was musical director for John William Isham's ''Octoroons'', a popular quasi-minstrel troupe, and was musical director for productions with

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 ...

. With Bob Cole and Billy Johnson he produced ''

A Trip to Coontown A Trip to Coontown is an American musical comedy. It was performed, directed, and produced by African-Americans. It was written and performed in by Bob Cole and Billy Johnson. and debuted it New Jersey in 1897 before touring in the U.S. and intern ...

'' in 1898, "the first New York musical written, produced, and performed by black artists". He wrote songs for the show and was its musical director. In addition to his other theatrical work, he also worked on Broadway musicals for white audiences, including ''The Belle of Bridgeport'' (1900), ''The Liberty Belles'' (1901), ''The Casino Girl'' (1900–1901). He co-wrote a musical with

Will Marion Cook William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an American composer, violinist, and choral director.Riis, Thomas (2007–2011)Cook, Will Marion ''Grove Music Online.'' Oxford Music Online. Retrieved ...

entitled ''The Cannibal King'' (1901), but it was never produced. He was a co-composer for Harry B. Smith's musical comedy, ''The Liberty Belles'', which was produced in 1901. He composed some of the music for the musical comedy ''Sons of Ham''. During a 1903 production of the show by Avery and Hart (Dan Avery and Charles Hart), Accooe was the orchestra's conductor. He wrote the comic opera ''The Volunteers'' in 1903, but fell ill and production was halted. Accooee wrote his own funeral oration shortly before his death. He died at age 30 on April 26, 1904, in Brooklyn, New York.

Selected compositions

*''Chicken'' (1899), co-wrote *''Lulu: I loves yer, Lulu'' co-wrote (1901) *''Love Has Claimed Its Own'' (1901), co-wrote *''Black Patti Waltzes'' *''Ma Dandy Soldier Coon'' (1900) *''On the Road to Cairo Town'' (1903) co-wrote with James O'Dea *''In a Birch Canoe'' (1904) *''

The Phrenologist Coon "The Phrenologist Coon" is a 1901 song written by African-American entertainer Ernest Hogan with music by Will Accooe. Bert Williams recorded it on Victor Records and sheet music was published for it. It was produced by Williams and Walker Co. ...

'' was released five times 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 ...

in recordings by either

Silas Leachman Silas Field Leachman (20 August 1859 – 28 April 1936) was an American pioneer recording artist, possibly the first person to make recordings in Chicago and known for making hundreds of thousands of phonograph cylinder recordings in the 18 ...

.Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Accooe, Will," accessed October 11, 2021, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116854. *''Tennessee Centennial March'' (1897)

References

External links

Additional biographical information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Accooe, Will 1874 births 1904 deaths 19th-century African-American musicians 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians African-American composers African-American male composers American musical theatre composers American organists Male musical theatre composers Music directors Musicians from Brooklyn People from Winchester, Virginia 19th-century organists

Life and career

Selected compositions

See also

References

External links