George W. Johnson The Laughing Song 78 Rpm Silvertone Minstrel Circa 1900s
$
40
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Description
George Washington Johnson, 29 October 1846, Virginia, USA, d. 1914, New York City, New York, USA. Born into slavery, during Reconstruction, Johnson moved north, eventually settling in New York. Through the 1870s and 80s he led a precarious existence before beginning a career as a recording artist. Given the date, around 1889, it is highly probable that Johnson was the first African American to make records. The date also explains why the material he recorded in the early 1890s, much of which came from minstrelsy, was often racist in content and style. Measured by the standards of the day, however, it was what the public wanted, indeed expected. That said, Johnson’s first recording featured his whistling. Songs for which Johnson was noted are ‘Listen To The Mocking Bird’, ‘The Whistling Coon’, ‘The Laughing Coon’ and ‘The Laughing Song’, all of which are included on the 2005 compilation Lost Sounds: Blacks And The Birth Of The Recording Industry, 1891-1922 and available with the book of the same title.
In common with other early recording artists, before the technique of mastering was developed every cylinder made was separately recorded, thus a taxing effort was needed. This was somewhat alleviated if four or five recording horns could be aimed at the singer and his vocal sound was strong enough to be recordable. Reputedly, Johnson’s sales, all of cylinders recorded in this manner, reached some 25, 000 copies by 1894. He made disc recordings from 1895 for several companies. In addition to his recordings, Johnson also appeared on stage in vaudeville theatres and this was where he met Len Spencer with whom he made some records. He was also employed by Spencer first as his valet and later as doorman at Spencer’s Lyceum Theater in Manhattan. Johnson’s death came from natural causes, condition as shown in my images.
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