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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)
Belgium
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. Became 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)
Belgium