Artist: Arthur Collins
Author: Alexander Rogers/Bert Williams
Label: Edison
Year: 1905
"The story of a coon for whom nobody does nothing, therefore he does nothing for nobody". Minstrel star, best known for his duets with Byron Harlan (see: Put Your Arms Around Me Honey).
Covers:
Bert Williams [signature song of this singer & actor from the Bahamas who made it in the States in minstrel shows]
Ry Cooder [with the Golden Gate Quartet]
Ukulele Club de Paris [as Personne]
Bert Williams was a black writer & performer in the blackfaced minstrel circuit, who had to blacken his face and whiten his lips just like the white musicians. Success and stardom were two different things for a black entertainer a century ago. He couldn't even order a drink at the bar of the theater he sold out daily. He was the first black accepted in the actors union, inducted by W.C. Fields.
If you noticed blunt omissions, mis-interpretations or even out-and-out errors,
please let me know:
Arnold Rypens
Rozenlaan 65
B-2840 Reet (Rumst)