Today We Honor Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake They was one of the nation’s premier composers and bandleaders, particularly in the early days of American popular song and theater. As the Dixie Duo, Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake were the first African American act to perform without darkening their faces with burnt cork in the style of blackface minstrelsy. During their extensive tours they met Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, a veteran comedy and dance duo who had gotten their start in theatrics at the historically black Fisk University in Nashville. The two acts joined forces, expanding Miller and Lyles’s sketch “The Mayor of Dixie” (later called “The Mayor of Jimtown”) and adding songs by Sissle and Blake to create the musical Shuffle Along, a pioneer musical featuring Josephine Baker, Florence Mills, Caterina Jarboro, William Grant Still, and Hal Johnson. The production also helped propel the Harlem Renaissance of the early 20th century. CARTER™️ Magazine carter-mag.com #wherehistoryandhiphopmeet #cartermagazine #historyandhiphop365 #carter #noblesissle #eubieblake #blackhistorymonth #blackhistory #history #staywoke #blacktwitter https://www.instagram.com/p/CmQtHJeu4Tx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
