Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer of ragtime music, popular and vaudeville tunes, and musical theater scores, notably Shuffle Along (1921), his groundbreaking collaboration with singer and lyricist Noble Sissle. Eubie Blake leaped halfway from his seat and yelled “Oh, professor, professor, you hit me, you hit me!” He placed both hands over his heart and continued with great emotion: “You make me think of my dear mother. We were supposed to shuffle on stage in blackface and patched-up overalls. In the East, it was a time when black performers, “chiefly piano men, were the staple of entertainment… in the whorehouses. Eubie Blake was one of the longest lasting pioneers of ragtime, and lived to nearly a week past his 96th birthday, although not his 100th as had long been believed. Thaťs the stuff I was raised on.” He will entertain you completely if you’re ever lucky enough to attend him in concert. Eubie later got drunk on fifteen cents’ worth of liquor. He could consume two quarters of champagne in an evening without any discernable effect. The casts end at the wrists and the proper left hand is pointed upwards, while the proper right hand is positioned at an angle. Eubie Blake was one of the most important figures in early-20th-century African-American music, and one whose longevity made him a storehouse of the history of ragtime and early jazz music and culture. Eubie’s mother could not keep him from pursuing his career. But “bless her heart, she learned it, had arrangements made, and sang it in the same week,” Sissle would later say. There are five undated manuscripts in Blake's hand of his arangements for the songs During this time he wrote some of his most famous ragtime. I wish I was ninety again!”, His memorial service, held in the church where eleven days earlier, thousands of people had celebrated his birthday, began with this prayer:  “Thank you, Jesus, for Eubie. Ducking behind the piano saved his life. They collaborated on more musical comedy. You look like a pickpocket!”. Black and white 8x10 signed photograph of Blake sitting down with his hands crossed and wearing a dark suit-and-tie, glasses, and cloth cap. He climbed up onto an organ stool and began picking out tunes on an organ. One of Eubie’s jobs, after Sheldon’s, was to be “Professor Hubert Blake,” who played a melodeon – a small reed organ – while buck dancing on the tailgate of a horse-drawn wagon. Its called from rags to classics I do play some classics on, there. National Museum of African American History and Culture, http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd59bfda784-cacf-46c3-ba95-19700462484e. And he did, even though he smoked and ate sweets! James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983), was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. But if a woman ever entered, someone would shout, “Heads up, men!” and all the vile talk would cease. Amen.”. The ink was still wet, and by the time Sophie held it in her hands the ink had run so badly the music was nearly unreadable. Digial.com Best Video Production Companies 2020, Ava Platinum Winner for Full Cycle: A World Odyssey, San Diego Video Production Company on Clutch. What sort of a legacy did he leave to fellow musicians and fellow humans? He has touched the lives of many through his music, a happy-go-lucky expression of his creativity – he loved ragtime and he always kept his own advice; never change the act if you know it’s a good one. Life casts of musician Eubie Blake's hands made of polyester resin. Of course he was the apple of his mama’s eye. Eubie Blake was one of the longest lasting pioneers of ragtime, and lived to nearly a week past his 96th birthday, although not his 100th as had long been believed. To get to Aggie Sheldon’s, “Mouse” waited every evening until his parents’ lamp went out and he could hear his father’s work boots drop. Blues, Rags and Stomps, Op. Blake gives a personal performance of his ever popular "Charleston Rag". Shop for Eubie Blake related autographs, signed photographs, historical documents and manuscripts from the world's largest collection. Eubie kept his career a secret from his parents until one day when a neighbor lady told Mrs. Blake she had heard coming out of Aggie Sheldon’s piano playing that could only be Eubie’s – because of the “wobble-wobble” in the left hand – a sort of reverse boogie bass which came to be Eubie’s trademark. This was the apple of his most famous ragtime 1.25 a night the show ran for more 500... Washed and cleaned for white folks. ” ( LT Carter ) in,! Wrote 3,000 tunes in his 100 years pattykaymooney | Jul 29, 2016 |.... One of the stage there is this big box with a piano in Aggie Sheldon ’ s father John. Tunes in his piano-playing my mother would say, ‘ Don ’ t bring that in. Son would play only religious tunes leg had been lost in an ice-skating accident Blake is total. 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