2016[07]A -- Ins-Net As for Feb 12, 2016: "Eubie @100" [C-B-B]

Insomniac-Net ANSWERS -- Friday[07], Feb 12, 2016 [ C - B - B ]
Tonight's Topic: "Eubie @100"
ANSWERS = [ C - B - B ]
(Statistics below)
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    On this day, February 12, 1983, the highly celebrated American musician, composer, entertainer, and musical producer, Eubie Blake, died at age 100.
    James Hubert "Eubie" Blake was born to former slaves who migrated north and found work in Baltimore.
    Throughout his century of living, Blake influenced American music history in many roles and from many venues.
    Besides composing his first (of many) popular piano "Rags" in 1899 (at the age of 16), he performed in numerous orchestras and vaudeville acts, wrote and produced several Broadway shows, served as musical director for some War World II U.S.O. tours, lectured at colleges and universities worldwide, and was a popular late-night TV show guest.

    Although these questions may seem a bit hard tonight, we hope you'll just sit back, take your best guess, and have some fun with them.
    So, how much do you know about the talented Mr. Eubie Blake?
    Please choose your answers from any of the 3 (reuseable) answers of "A", "B", or "C" (if applicable!) for each question.   
    Ok, flex those fingers and start pounding out those Ragtime answers!

 ++ "Eubie @100" ++
Question #1: Written by Blake and his partner, Noble Sisle, the 1921 production "Shuffle Along" became the first hit musical on Broadway written by and about African-Americans. What was the name of their Vaudeville Act several years earlier?
        A. the Raggedity Ragmen, or
        B. the Al Jolson's Revue, or
        C. the Dixie Duo

     James Hubert Blake was born in Baltimore on February 7, 1883. His parents were both former slaves who migrated north and found work in Baltimore. Blake showed an early interest in music and began music studies at age seven. By age 15, without knowledge of his parents, he was playing piano in a Baltimore bordello. His first legit job came in 1907, playing piano at the Gans Goldfield Hotel. It wasn't until 1915 that Blake learned to write in musical notation, at which point he began documenting some of his earlier compositions like "The Charleston Rag."

Noble Sisle and Eubie Blake (1925)

Eubie Blake and Noble Sisle (1960)

    Shortly after World War I, Blake joined forces with performer Noble Sissle to form a vaudeville music duo called the Dixie Duo. They later incorporated many of the songs they had written together into a musical revue, Shuffle Along, which premiered in June 1921 and became the first hit musical on Broadway written by and about African-Americans. That production introduced the hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry."
[SOURCE: PasteMagazine.com: Eubie Blake - Memories Of You]

Question #2:  Besides running for more than 480 shows, "Shuffle Along" earned $8 million (even during the early 1920s Depression) and introduced the hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Which notable personality named "Harry" used this song to his advantage years later?
   A. The small town magician, Harry Houdini, used it as his "stage anthem" in gaining worldwide fame, or
   B. President Harry S. Truman used it as a boost for his 1948 re-election campaign, or
   C. San Francisco Police Inspector Harry Callahan used to whistled it while interrogating suspects to make them confess

      "... There was also one enormous hit, “I’m Just Wild About Harry,” which became popular at the time for artists such as Marion Harris, Ray Miller, and Paul Whiteman, among others, and gave a boost to Harry S. Truman’s election campaign in 1948.
    Blake contributed to other Broadway musicals and revues such as “Elsie,” Andre Charlot’s “Revue of 1924,” and Lew Leslie’s “Blackbirds of 1930.” 

[Listen to a recording of “I’m Just Wild About Harry” ]

 [SOURCE: Eubie Blake in Broadway: The American Musical -- A Film by Michael Kantor]

"Shuffle Along" REVIVAL -- April 2016!

Question #3: In 1979, Blake appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live (SNL). What seems like a strange coincidence about this appearance?
        A. In reality, he disliked both the SNL show and thus, also, having to visit New York City for the appearance, or
        B. The name of the former SNL star, Chevy Chase, was also the name of one of his 1911 piano ragtime compositions, or
        C. He was confined to a wheel-chair during the appearance, but the audience didn't know this, since he sat at the piano during the show

    "... Without the knowledge of his parents, Blake worked Aggie Shelton’s bordello at age fifteen, entertaining customers with light classics and popular rags such as “Hello, Ma Ragtime Gal” and “After the Ball.” With little interest in school, Blake sought to become a full time musician, and at age sixteen performed professionally in a Baltimore nightclub.
    In 1899 he composed his first piano rag later titled the “Charleston Rag.” The piano roll of “Charleston Rag” (1917), observed Mark Tucker in Ellington the Early Years, “features a walking bass in broken octaves, flashy appregiated breaks, chromatic seventh chords, and certain rhythmic tricks.”
    In 1901 Blake danced and played melodian with Dr. Frazier’s Medicine Show... after two years at Greenfield’s, Blake found steady work at Annie Gilly’s sporting house.
    In This is Ragtime, Blake related how he “ragged” popular songs and classics from Wagner to Viennese waltzes. Able to transpose numbers in any key, and possessing a finger span of twelve notes, Blake earned a reputation as one of the finest ragtime pianists of the eastern school.

    In 1911, Blake wrote his piano rags, “The Chevy Chase” and “Fizz Water.”
    During the next few years, Blake was kept busy through seasonal work in Baltimore and Atlantic City where he performed at such places as Ben Allen’s Boathouse and the Bucket of Blood...."

[Listen to a recording of “The Chevy Chase” -- the grinding noises are removed (from the original), however low original fidelity (250 to 2,500 cycles per second for acoustic) remains.]

 [SOURCE: Eubie Blake in Broadway: The American Musical -- A Film by Michael Kantor]
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++ QUOTE OF THE NET ++  -- Eubie Blake, on the occasion of his 100th birthday:
            “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself.”

"Shuffle Along" REVIVAL -- April 2016!

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ANSWERS = CBB Statistics: 3 correct = 10 2 correct = 48 1 correct = 31 Spotted owl: 18 Check me in: 03 [New to the net: 02] Total check-ins: 110 Trend: CBC=32; ABC=18; CBB=10

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BLOG LINKS: Questions = 2016[07]Q -- Ins-Net Qs for Feb 12, 2016: "Eubie @100" Answers = 2016[07]A -- Ins-Net As for Feb 12, 2016: "Eubie @100" [11513 | 4110]

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Please include you name, Callsign, and those correct answers.
Good luck everyone!
Shelley [KF7TBA] & LW [K7LWA]
K7LWA.INS@gmail.com
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Next Week: Bad, Bad Harry?
Later: How About Some Brown Sauce for the Prime Rib
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Thank you!
Shelley [KF7TBA] & LW [K7LWA]
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Posted 2016-02-13 16:45PT
BLOGed 2016-02-13 16:45PT
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Posted by K7LWA.INS  at  2016-02-13 16:30PT

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