Adah Menken was to the San Francisco of Civil War days what Tetrazzini was to the city in the early years of the twentieth century. Not until 1938 were the probable facts of her birthplace and paternity established. The likeliest facts seem to be that Men
The face of Tim Moore is known to millions as that of George "Kingfish" Stevens, star of the "Amos 'n Andy" television program. What is not so well known is that Moore was literally called out of retirement to play that role. He
Madame Sissieretta Jones, who grew up in Providence, toured the world to share her "soprano voice of great richness," considerable range and "impeccable enunciation," one critic said. Critics credited Sissieretta with forcing the "
With a wig, high heels and a colorful mini-dress, Flip Wilson sashayed into America's living rooms, spicing up the 1970s with burlesque humor and introducing a rare black voice to prime-time audiences.
Herb Jeffries is no ordinary man. Lean and not so mean, he wore two guns, wore a white Stetson hat and rode a white horse named "StarDusk" Sounds like a cowboy hero doesn't it? Well, he was and he's black!
"You want my story?" Eartha Kitt purred dramatically, in a furry, plaintive voice for a recent interview. "I'll give it to you in six words: Rejected. Ejected. Dejected. Used. Accused. Abused."
From the start, Josephine Baker was a survivor. Far from the glitter and gaiety that characterized her beloved Paris, Baker's beginnings were harsh and difficult. Born in the slums of St. Louis, Baker grew up sleeping in cardboard shelters and scaven
As the saying goes, "you gotta pay the dues if you wanna sing the blues." In no other way than living the kind of violent, promiscuous, hard-drinking street life she sang about, could Bessie Smith have inspired in her audiences the powerful empa
