Coon, Coon, Coon is a "coon song" from 1900. The words were written by Gene Jefferson and the music by Leo Friedman. The lyrics are about an African American concerned with his appearance including his skin color and hair type while not being accepted by a woman. He makes efforts to acquire Caucasian characteristics but fails and is called out. Songsheet cover for the music include caricatured African American faces and a photograph of minstrel performers of the song inset. [1]
The song was performed by Lew Dockstader. Arthur Collins and Joe Natus recorded a rendition of the song on Edison Records in 1901. [2] The University of California Santa Barbara has a brown wax phonograph cylinder recording of the song. [3] A version of the songsheet has a photograph of Irving Jones inset. [4] In 1902, "Coon! Coon! Coon!" was published in the Song-book of the Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania, A. Groux, printer. [5]
The Library of Congress has a photograph of two Caucasian children pointing at an African American described as illustrating a line from the song. [6]
A version of the song was recorded in the Max Hunter Folk Song Collection. [7]
Coon songs such as this one ridicule African Americans. [8] The derisive term coon, a shortened form of raccoon alluding to cunning, was used to refer to Native Americans, Whigs, and "sly rustic" types before being used to describe African Americans. [9]
Gid Tanner and Fate Norris recorded the song in 1928 as did Will Gilmer and R.O. Mosley. The Taylor Trio recorded it in 1930. [10]
In 1945, William Howland Kenney gave a partial defense of Arthur Collins singing the lyrics of the song and described it as bathetic. [11]
Charles Kenyon incorporated a Caucasian woman struggling to perform the song in the 1929 movie Show Boat . [12]
Arthur Francis Collins was an American baritone who was one of the pioneer recording artists, regarded in his day as "King of the Ragtime Singers".
John Serry Sr. was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voice of America's cultural diplomacy initiatives during the Golden Age of Radio. He also concertized on the accordion as a member of several orchestras and jazz ensembles for nearly forty years between the 1930s and 1960s.
George Robert Vincent was a pioneer in the field of sound recording and archiving.
"The Laughing Policeman" is a music hall song recorded by British artist Charles Penrose, published under the pseudonym Charles Jolly in 1922. It is an adaptation of "The Laughing Song" first recorded in 1890 by American singer George W. Johnson with the same tune and form, but the subject matter was changed from a "dandy darky" to a policeman. Both "The Laughing Policeman" and "The Laughing Song" were highly popular, and over a million copies of "The Laughing Policeman" were sold. "The Laughing Policeman" remained popular in later decades as a children song.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1944.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1943.
Leo Friedman was an American composer of popular music. Friedman was born in Elgin, Illinois and died in Chicago, Illinois. He is best remembered for composing the sentimental waltz "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" with lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson in 1910. Another popular composition was "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland."
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1934.
The Preacher and the Bear is an American popular song, originally a "coon song". The lyrics recount the story of a church pastor who appeals to God after being treed by a grizzly bear while out hunting on the Sabbath. He falls out of the tree and has to fight the bear. Various versions have been recorded.
The Wisconsin Folk Song Recording Project is a University of Wisconsin and Library of Congress sponsored project carried out by Helene Stratman-Thomas and Leland A. Coon to record folk songs. The collection includes recordings, notes, and photographs gathered from 1937 to 1946. "Song catcher" Sidney Robertson Cowell was also involved in making recordings.
Felix F. Feist was a lyricist and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executive. He wrote the lyrics for songs in several Broadway shows. Leo Feist was his brother, Felix E. Feist was his son, and Raymond E. Feist is his grandson. Several of the songs he wrote the lyrics for became prominent. "Strolling 'Long the Pike" was a song set at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. Ada Jones recorded the song "Bull Frog & Coon" in 1906 for Edison Records. It was also recorded by the Five Brown Brothers in 1911. Feist wrote the lyrics for the song now known as "Skidamarink", a popular children's song.
Gasoline Gus is a character that was popular in cartoon strips, a record single, and films. The comic strip was written by O.P. Williams and was syndicated by the Philadelphia North American between 1913 and 1914. The character Gasoline Gus was a taxi driver and car fanatic who constantly wrecked his early automobile. Billy Murray and the American Quartet recorded the song "Gasoline Gus and his Jitney Bus" in 1915. It was recorded on Edison Record phonograph cylinder. It was one of several songs about jitneys in the U.S. as they became popular in the lead up to World War I.
Joseph Natus was an American minstrel performer and recording artist who was prominent during the early 20th century. He was a tenor.
Joseph Paul Skelly, also abbreviated J. P. Skelley, was a composer of music. He arranged the music for songs published as sheet music. For other songs he composed the words and music. The Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection at Johns Hopkins University has sheet music for many of the songs he composed. The Library of Congress has several of his works in its collection.
Blind Joe Mangrum was a fiddler who toured as a vaudeville showman and recorded with Victor Records. He recorded with Fred Shriver. He was one of the first stars of Grand Ole Opry. He was the second oldest fiddler to record. He placed high in a Henry Ford sponsored contest.
James Sharpe (1877–1943), also known as Olly Oakley, was a British banjo player and composer. He was considered a prominent zither-banjo player in England. His music made up a part of early banjo recordings on the phonograph, and during his life, he became "the most widely recorded English banjoist". Other than his performing name of Olly Oakley, he alternately recorded under the pseudonyms Fred Turner, Signor Cetra, Jack Sherwood, Mr F Curtis, Frank Forrester, and Tim Holes.
Willis J. Accooe 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 website.
"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. and published by Jos. W. Stern & Co. in New York City.
My Castle on the Nile is an American song with lyrics by Bob Cole and James Weldon Johnson and music by J. Rosamond Johnson. Arthur Collins was recorded on a Columbia Records wax cylinder performing the song in 1902. Various artists have recorded it since.
The Moon Shines on the Moonshine is a song by Francis De Witt (lyrics) and Robert Hood Bowers (music). It was performed by Bert Williams in Ziegfeld Follies and recorded on an album. Shapiro Bernstein and Co. published sheet music for the song in 1920 in New York City.