Related Research Articles
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911; it is often inaccurately cited as his first global hit. Despite its title, the song is a march as opposed to a rag and contains little syncopation. The song is a narrative sequel to Berlin's earlier 1910 composition "Alexander and His Clarinet". This earlier composition recounts the reconciliation between an African-American musician named Alexander Adams and his flame Eliza Johnson as well as highlights Alexander's innovative musical style. Berlin's friend Jack Alexander, a cornet-playing African-American bandleader, inspired the title character.
William Clarence Eckstine was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award "for performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording." His recording of "I Apologize" was given the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. The New York Times described him as an "influential band leader" whose "suave bass-baritone" and "full-throated, sugary approach to popular songs inspired singers like Earl Coleman, Johnny Hartman, Joe Williams, Arthur Prysock, and Lou Rawls."
Leroy Anderson was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."
Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received numerous accolades including a Grammy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award as well as nominations for five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and Tony Award. Davis was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1994 and received the National Medal of Arts in 1995, Kennedy Center Honors in 2004
Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. Dee was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades including two Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, a Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1995, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2000, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.
Ruby McCollum, born Ruby Jackson, was a wealthy married African-American woman in Live Oak, Florida, who is known for being arrested and convicted in 1952 for killing Dr. C. Leroy Adams, a prominent white doctor and state senator–elect. She testified as to their sexual relationship and his paternity of her child. The judge prohibited her from recounting her allegations of abuse by Adams. She was sentenced to death for his murder by an all-white jury. The sensational case was covered widely in the United States press. McCollum was subjected to a gag order. Her case was appealed and overturned by the State Supreme Court.
"Prisoner of Love" is a 1931 popular song, with music by Russ Columbo and Clarence Gaskill and lyrics by Leo Robin.
Nathan Tate Davis was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute. He is known for his work with Eric Dolphy, Kenny Clarke, Ray Charles, Slide Hampton and Art Blakey.
William D. Alexander was an American filmmaker. He made U.S. government-sponsored newsreels for African American audiences. He later established his own production company, Alexander Productions, in New York City and became a film producer.
Rhythm in a Riff is a 1947 medium length musical film produced by William D. Alexander and directed by Leonard Anderson. The film stars Billy Eckstine and his band performing as well as Ann Baker, Hortense Allen Jordan, Sarah Harris, and Emmett "Babe" Wallace. The film is extant. The film was.made in New York City. It was released by Astor Pictures. The film was targeted to am African American audience, features and African American cast, and was produced and directed by African Americans. The film is also known as Flicker Up.
Syncopation is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film directed by Bert Glennon and starring Barbara Bennett, Bobby Watson, and Ian Hunter. It was the second film produced by RKO Radio Pictures and the first to be released by the studio, in March 1929; the company's first produced film, Street Girl, was not released until August 1929. The film was made at the company's New York City studios and is based on the novel Stepping High by Gene Markey. The film was heavily marketed on its release, being the first film to be broadcast over the radio, as well as RKO's first sound musical, and was a significant success.
Syncopation is a 1942 American film from RKO directed by William Dieterle and starring Adolphe Menjou, Jackie Cooper, and Bonita Granville. It is set during the early days of jazz. It is also known as The Band Played On.
Franklin Eugene Bolden, Jr., was an American journalist best known for his work as a war correspondent during World War II when he was one of only two accredited African American war correspondents.
Ann Baker was an American jazz singer. Baker was discovered by Louie Armstrong and played with his band on Broadway. She is best known for her time spent as a member of Billy Eckstine's band, "The Dream Band" where she performed with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis and Art Blakey.
William Henri Woode was an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and singer. His compositions include A Night at the Vanguard, Sweet Slumber, You Taught Me to Love Again, and the jazz standard Broadway popularized by the Count Basie Orchestra. Woode and his orchestra starred in the 1946 featurette film Love in Syncopation.
Jessie Coles Grayson was an American singer and actress, known for The Little Foxes (1941), Cass Timberlane (1947) and Homecoming (1948).
The Fight Never Ends is an American film with a crime fighting theme released in 1948. It was directed by Joe Lerner, with a cast that included boxer Joe Louis, Ruby Dee, The Mills Brothers, and Harrel Tillman. It was one of stage star Ruby Dee's first films.
Harrel Gordon Tillman Sr. was an actor who became an ordained minister and moved to Houston Texas where he also became a lawyer and judge. He was the first African-American judge in Texas.
That Man of Mine is an American film released in 1946. Directed by Leonard Anderson, it features an African-American cast.
Leonard Anderson was an American film editor and film director, and he co-owned a film production company. Anderson's short films of African-American musical acts include footage of Anna Mae Winburn with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Lucky Millinder and his orchestra, and Henri Woode.
References
- 1 2 "Love in Syncopation (1946) [Lost Film]". The Department of Afro American Research, Arts, and Culture's Archive.
- ↑ Smith, Jessie Carney (December 1, 2012). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578594252 – via Google Books.
- 1 2 "NEW FILMUSICAL". The Pittsburgh Courier. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. August 3, 1946. p. 18.
 | This article about a musical comedy film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |