Quick Facts
- NAME: James Hubert Blake
- OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur, Songwriter, Pianist
- BIRTH DATE: c. February 07, 1883
- DEATH DATE: c. February 12, 1983
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Baltimore, Maryland
- PLACE OF DEATH: Brooklyn, New York
Best Known For
Pianist and composer Eubie Blake’s ragtime hits like “Memories of You” were not only popular with urban blacks but also with suburban whites across the country.
Eubie Blake. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 11:04, May 24, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/eubie-blake-12816701
Eubie Blake [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/eubie-blake-12816701, May 24
" Eubie Blake." 2012. Biography.com 24 May 2012, 11:04 http://www.biography.com/people/eubie-blake-12816701
' Eubie Blake', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/eubie-blake-12816701 [accessed May 24, 2012]
" Eubie Blake," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/eubie-blake-12816701 (accessed May 24, 2012).
Eubie Blake [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 24]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/eubie-blake-12816701.
Eubie Blake, http://www.biography.com/people/eubie-blake-12816701 (last visited May 24, 2012).
Eubie Blake, http://www.biography.com/people/eubie-blake-12816701 (last visited May 24, 2012).
Synopsis
At 15, Eubie Blake was playing in saloons and brothels, eventually teaming with songwriter Noble Sissle to produce the first Broadway musical ever to be written and directed by African Americans, Shuffle Along, in 1921. Blake’s ragtime hits were popular with urban blacks and suburban whites alike. After taking a 20-year break from show business, he returned in to launch his own music label.
Profile
Pianist and composer. Born James Hubert Blake on February 7, 1883 in Baltimore, Maryland. The son of former slaves, Blake began playing his family's pump organ at the age of four, launching a music career that would span eight decades.
At 15, Blake was playing in local saloons and brothels, eventually teaming with songwriter Noble Sissle to produce the first Broadway musical ever to be written and directed by African Americans, Shuffle Along, in 1921. Blake's ragtime hits like "Memories of You" and "I'm Just Wild about Harry" were not only popular with urban blacks but also with suburban whites across the country.
After taking a 20-year break from show business, Blake returned in his nineties to launch his own music label, Eubie Blake Music. He gave his last public performance in 1982, dying a year later in Brooklyn, New York.
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