Perry Bradford’s “Crazy Blues”
- Sheet music measuring 9 ½ x 12 ¼ inches, 6pp
- New York City: Perry Bradford Music Publishing Co, 1920
New York City: Perry Bradford Music Publishing Co, 1920. Sheet music measuring 9 ½ x 12 ¼ inches, 6pp. Small marginal tears and folds; upper right corner of cover page missing; larger tear at central fold. Cover inscribed “Irene Cooper”. Overall very good.. Perry Bradford (1893–1970) and Mamie Smith (1891–1946) both began their careers as traveling vaudeville performers. Smith moved to New York City as a teen, danced in the Smart Set company, and sang at clubs. Bradford also moved to the city; in 1917 he hired Smith to sing with his company and became her manager and agent.
Around this time, Bradford was fighting an uphill battle to convince a record company to record a blues track featuring an African-American singer. He finally convinced Fred Hager of OKeh Records to record with Smith. They first recorded “That Thing Called Love” and “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down”, both with a white studio band. OKeh was surprised at how well these tracks sold, and agreed to record “It’s Right Here For You” and “Crazy Blues” – but this time with an all-Black band. This made Mamie Smith the first African-American to record a blues track, and kicked off the popularity of “race records”, or records made by and for African-American listeners. Nonetheless, both Bradford and Smith would die in relative obscurity; Smith was buried without even a headstone until 2013.
Offered here is sheet music for “Crazy Blues”, written by Perry Bradford and performed by Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds. The Jazz Hounds from left to right are Ernest Elliot, Dope Andrews, Mamie Smith, Willie “The Lion Smith” (seated at the piano), Addington Major, and Leroy Parker. We find four copies on OCLC, at Yale, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, and Brigham Young University at Provo. Of interest to historians of African-American music, especially female musicians.
Around this time, Bradford was fighting an uphill battle to convince a record company to record a blues track featuring an African-American singer. He finally convinced Fred Hager of OKeh Records to record with Smith. They first recorded “That Thing Called Love” and “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down”, both with a white studio band. OKeh was surprised at how well these tracks sold, and agreed to record “It’s Right Here For You” and “Crazy Blues” – but this time with an all-Black band. This made Mamie Smith the first African-American to record a blues track, and kicked off the popularity of “race records”, or records made by and for African-American listeners. Nonetheless, both Bradford and Smith would die in relative obscurity; Smith was buried without even a headstone until 2013.
Offered here is sheet music for “Crazy Blues”, written by Perry Bradford and performed by Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds. The Jazz Hounds from left to right are Ernest Elliot, Dope Andrews, Mamie Smith, Willie “The Lion Smith” (seated at the piano), Addington Major, and Leroy Parker. We find four copies on OCLC, at Yale, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, and Brigham Young University at Provo. Of interest to historians of African-American music, especially female musicians.