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91:. He was best known in his own time for his "tear-jerkers". 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. Another tear-jerker was "In the Baggage Coach Ahead", Davis's most commercially successful composition, selling over a million copies. 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.
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56:"; Davis published it himself, paying a local printer $ 20, and sold enough copies to make his money back plus a little more. 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.
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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. He performed as a pianist in venues such as Bergen Star Concerts and toured with minstrel groups including his own Davis Operatic and Plantation
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In 1886, when
Propheter branched out his business to New York and Tin Pan Alley, Davis went with him. He worked steadily, performing as well as writing songs, and making a name for himself. By 1895, he was sufficiently well known to be selected to compete in a contest sponsored by the
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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. His first song was published in 1880,
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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.
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Davis, Gussie L.; Wright, Josephine R.B.; Lucas, Sam (Autumn 1978). "In
Retrospect: Gussie Lord Davis (1863–1899), Tin Pan Alley Tunesmith".
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39:. Davis was one of America's earliest successful African-American music artists, the first black songwriter to become famous on
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At the time of his death, Gussie Davis had published more than three hundred songs and certainly left more in manuscript.
561:"Footprints in the Snow: The Intercontinental Journey of a Song (Supplement: Songs that Aren't 'Footprints In The Snow')"
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and that he was recovering from a serious illness. In August of that year, press releases indicated he would appear in
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Folklore The
Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World
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His profile was low enough, however, that some who saw only his name mistook him for a woman.
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Davis wrote a variety of musical forms, including sentimental ballads, comic minstrel songs,
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172:
689:, Discography of American Historical Recordings, University of California, Santa Barbara
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According to one source, Propheter's publishing business was founded on Davis's talent.
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Also notable is Davis's "Irene, Good Night" (1886), which entered the
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American
Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years
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Out of Sight: The Rise of
African American Popular Music, 1889–1895
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15:
136:"Wait Till the Tide Comes In" (1887), words by George Propheter
444:
Blacks in
Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows
267:
Spreadin' Rhythm Around: Black
Popular Songwriters, 1880–1930
115:. On October 18, 1899, Davis died at home in Whitestone.
148:"Down in Poverty Row" (1895), music by Arthur Trevelyan
31:(December 3, 1863 – October 18, 1899) was an American
145:"Only a Bowery Boy" (1894), words by Charles B. Ward
504:. Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 48–49, 327.
538:. University of Illinois Press. pp. 304–307.
535:Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong
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142:"Fatal Wedding" (1893), words by William H. Windom
20:Gussie Lord Davis . Performing Arts Reading Room,
225:Not the Bluegrass classic, but a different song.
608:"Express Office, The (He Is Coming to Us Dead)"
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641:Wolfe, Charles K.; Lornell, Kip (7 May 1999).
171:repertoire, albeit significantly altered, as "
127:"We Sat Beneath The Maple on the Hill" (1880)
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103:reported that Davis had purchased a home in
68:Cover of sheet music for one of Davis' songs
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379:. W.W. Norton. pp. 221, 242–244, 302.
606:Waltz, Robert B.; Engle, David G. (2012).
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340:Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On
703:International Music Score Library Project
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477:. Library of Congress. November 14, 2007
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154:"She Waited at the Altar in Vain" (1897)
376:The Music of Black Americans: A History
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687:Early recordings of Gussie Davis songs
440:"Colored Songwriters and Their Songs"
264:Jasen, David A.; Jones, Gene (2013).
133:"Little Footsteps in the Snow" (1886)
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413:. Oxford University Press. pp.
139:"Why Does Papa Stay So Late?" (1889)
54:We Sat Beneath the Maple on the Hill
616:California State University, Fresno
498:Abbott, Lynn; Seroff, Doug (2003).
234:Also known as "The Express Office".
151:"In the Baggage Coach Ahead" (1896)
14:
647:. Da Capo Press. pp. 55–56.
679:
644:The Life And Legend Of Leadbelly
446:. Scarecrow Press. p. 235.
343:. Cengage Learning. p. 29.
163:"He Is Coming to Us Dead" (1899)
43:as a composer of popular music.
739:19th-century American musicians
693:"Tear Jerkers in American Song"
559:Brooks, Julay (December 2012).
130:"Light House by the Sea" (1886)
749:People from Whitestone, Queens
734:Blackface minstrel songwriters
442:. In Sampson, Henry T. (ed.).
304:The Black Perspective in Music
1:
695:, at The Parlor Songs Academy
270:. Routledge. pp. 17–21.
475:Performing Arts Encyclopedia
177:Negro Folk Songs as Sung by
744:Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
699:Free scores by Gussie Davis
678:(public domain audiobooks)
593:"Only a nigger baby (1897)"
157:"Only a Nigger Baby" (1897)
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337:Campbell, Michael (2012).
373:Southern, Eileen (1997).
99:An April 1899 article in
438:Foster, William (2013).
405:Sanjek, Russell (1988).
109:A Hot Old Time in Dixie
160:"My Creole Sue" (1898)
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729:Songwriters from Ohio
672:Works by Gussie Davis
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622:on November 21, 2021
532:Cohen, Norm (2000).
105:Whitestone, New York
471:"Gussie Lord Davis"
22:Library of Congress
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545:978-0-252-06881-2
511:978-1-60473-039-5
453:978-0-8108-8351-2
424:978-0-19-504310-5
386:978-0-393-03843-9
350:978-1-133-71260-2
277:978-1-135-50972-9
29:Gussie Lord Davis
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37:Dayton, Ohio
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724:1899 deaths
719:1863 births
101:The Freeman
80:Minstrels.
713:Categories
578:2014-12-25
481:2014-12-25
242:References
179:Lead Belly
47:Early life
33:songwriter
169:folk song
85:art songs
754:Janitors
676:LibriVox
182:(1936).
35:born in
705:(IMSLP)
701:at the
324:1214174
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60:Career
564:(PDF)
320:JSTOR
186:Notes
175:" in
95:Death
649:ISBN
628:2021
540:ISBN
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
