EUBIE BLAKE

Eubie Blake, ragtime composer and performer, was born on February 7,1883 in Baltimore, Md. At the age of four or five, Blake began playing his family's pump organ. Noticing his interest in music, Blake's parents signed him up for piano lessons with a neighborhood teacher. In 1898, at the age of 15, Blake became interested in ragtime, to his mother's dismay. Against her wishes and without her knowing, he began his professional music career by playing ragtime piano in Baltimore brothels, honky tonks and bars. He later played in clubs and saloons. Blake's work led him to meet the major musicians of the time. One of whom, Noble Sissle, would later become his partner. The pair met in 1915. Sissle joined Blake's band as a singer. Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake created a vaudeville act, the Dixie Duo. They wrote songs and performed. Sophie Tucker sang their first song, "It's All read more...