Blake, Eubie (James Hubert Blake),
1887–1983, African-American pianist and composer, b. Baltimore. His
career extended from ragtime (see jazz) to Broadway (in the 1920s) into the
1970-'80s. With the songwriter Noble Sissle he produced and scored the first
Broadway musical staged by Black actors, Shuffle Along
(1921). Blake's career faded in the '30s but he made a comeback beginning in
1969 when the album The 86 Years of Eubie Blake appeared.
He subsequently recorded and toured extensively until his death. His career
as a songwriter was celebrated in the Broadway show, Eubie
(1978). His most famous songs are “Memories of You” and
“I'm Just Wild about Harry.”
See R. Kimball and B. Bolcom, Reminiscing with Sissle and Blake
(1972), A. Rose, Eubie Blake (1977), R. Carlin and
K. Bloom, Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm, and Race (2020).
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