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Gussie Lord Davis [n.d.]. Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress.

Gussie Lord Davis (December 3, 1863 – October 18, 1899) was an American songwriter born in Dayton, Ohio.[1][2] Davis was one of America's earliest successful African-American music artists, the first black songwriter to become famous on Tin Pan Alley as a composer of popular music.[3][4]

Early life

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Gussie Davis received musical training at the Nelson Musical College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his application was rejected due to the color of his skin. Instead, he worked as a janitor at a low wage in exchange for private lessons.[4] His first song was published in 1880, "We Sat Beneath the Maple on the Hill"; Davis published it himself, paying a local printer $20, and sold enough copies to make his money back plus a little more.[1] He continued his songwriting efforts with increasing success, publishing many songs and attracting attention, including that of Cincinnati publisher and would-be lyricist, George Propheter.[4][a]

Career

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Cover of sheet music for one of Davis' songs

In 1886, when Propheter branched out his business to New York and Tin Pan Alley, Davis went with him.[1][5] He worked steadily, performing as well as writing songs, and making a name for himself.[b] By 1895, he was sufficiently well known to be selected to compete in a contest sponsored by the New York World to find the ten best songwriters in the nation; he placed second with his song, "Send Back the Picture and the Ring", and won a prize of $500 in gold.[5] He performed as a pianist in venues such as Bergen Star Concerts[2] and toured with minstrel groups including his own Davis Operatic and Plantation Minstrels.[7]

Davis wrote a variety of musical forms, including sentimental ballads, comic minstrel songs, art songs, and choral music.[7] He was best known in his own time for his "tear-jerkers".[1][4] One of these was "Fatal Wedding" (1893), his first national hit; Davis composed the music, a waltz, while the words are credited to William H. Windom, a well-known ballad singer.[8] Another tear-jerker was "In the Baggage Coach Ahead", Davis's most commercially successful composition, selling over a million copies.[1][c] The success of "In the Baggage Coach" was fueled by the popular female vaudeville singer, Imogene Comer, who made it part of her regular repertoire.[4][9]

Death

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An April 1899 article in The Freeman reported that Davis had purchased a home in Whitestone, New York and that he was recovering from a serious illness.[2] In August of that year, press releases indicated he would appear in A Hot Old Time in Dixie, going on the road in the coming season; this musical farce was Davis's property with Tom McIntosh.[2] On October 18, 1899, Davis died at home in Whitestone.[2]

At the time of his death, Gussie Davis had published more than three hundred songs[2] and certainly left more in manuscript.

Selected songs

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  • "We Sat Beneath The Maple on the Hill" (1880)
  • "Light House by the Sea" (1886)
  • "Little Footsteps in the Snow" (1886)[d]
  • "Wait Till the Tide Comes In" (1887), words by George Propheter
  • "Why Does Papa Stay So Late?" (1889)
  • "Fatal Wedding" (1893), words by William H. Windom
  • "Only a Bowery Boy" (1894), words by Charles B. Ward
  • "Down in Poverty Row" (1895), music by Arthur Trevelyan
  • "In the Baggage Coach Ahead" (1896)[9]
  • "She Waited at the Altar in Vain" (1897)
  • "Only a Nigger Baby" (1897)[11]
  • "My Creole Sue" (1898)
  • "He Is Coming to Us Dead"[e] (1899)[9]

Also notable is Davis's "Irene, Good Night" (1886), which entered the folk song repertoire, albeit significantly altered, as "Goodnight, Irene" in Negro Folk Songs as Sung by Lead Belly (1936).[8][13]

Notes

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  1. ^ According to one source, Propheter's publishing business was founded on Davis's talent.[5]
  2. ^ His profile was low enough, however, that some who saw only his name mistook him for a woman.[6]
  3. ^ It is not clear how much Davis profited directly from this composition; some sources say he sold it for a bargain, others that he was fairly compensated.[9]
  4. ^ Not the Bluegrass classic, but a different song.[10]
  5. ^ Also known as "The Express Office".[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Jasen, David A.; Jones, Gene (2013). Spreadin' Rhythm Around: Black Popular Songwriters, 1880–1930. Routledge. pp. 17–21. ISBN 978-1-135-50972-9.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Davis, Gussie L.; Wright, Josephine R.B.; Lucas, Sam (Autumn 1978). "In Retrospect: Gussie Lord Davis (1863–1899), Tin Pan Alley Tunesmith". The Black Perspective in Music. 6 (2): 188–230. doi:10.2307/1214174. JSTOR 1214174.
  3. ^ Campbell, Michael (2012). Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On. Cengage Learning. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-133-71260-2.
  4. ^ a b c d e Southern, Eileen (1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History. W.W. Norton. pp. 221, 242–244, 302. ISBN 978-0-393-03843-9.
  5. ^ a b c Sanjek, Russell (1988). American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years. Oxford University Press. pp. 282–283. ISBN 978-0-19-504310-5.
  6. ^ Foster, William (2013). "Colored Songwriters and Their Songs". In Sampson, Henry T. (ed.). Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows. Scarecrow Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-8108-8351-2.
  7. ^ a b "Gussie Lord Davis". Performing Arts Encyclopedia. Library of Congress. November 14, 2007. Retrieved 2014-12-25.
  8. ^ a b Abbott, Lynn; Seroff, Doug (2003). Out of Sight: The Rise of African American Popular Music, 1889–1895. Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 48–49, 327. ISBN 978-1-60473-039-5.
  9. ^ a b c d Cohen, Norm (2000). Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong. University of Illinois Press. pp. 304–307. ISBN 978-0-252-06881-2.
  10. ^ Brooks, Julay (December 2012). "Footprints in the Snow: The Intercontinental Journey of a Song (Supplement: Songs that Aren't 'Footprints In The Snow')" (PDF). Old-Time Herald. 13 (4). Retrieved 2014-12-25.
  11. ^ "Only a nigger baby (1897)".
  12. ^ Waltz, Robert B.; Engle, David G. (2012). "Express Office, The (He Is Coming to Us Dead)". Folklore The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World. California State University, Fresno. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  13. ^ Wolfe, Charles K.; Lornell, Kip (7 May 1999). The Life And Legend Of Leadbelly. Da Capo Press. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0-7867-5282-3.
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