Everything about J Rosamond Johnson totally explained
John Rosamond Johnson (
1873–
1954), most often referred to as
J. Rosamond Johnson, was an American composer and singer during the
Harlem Renaissance. Johnson is most notable as the composer of
Lift Every Voice and Sing which has come to be known in the United States as the "Black National Anthem". His brother, the poet
James Weldon Johnson, wrote the lyrics of the famous piece.
Biography
Johnson was trained at the
New England Conservatory and then studied in
London. His career began as an interesting public school teacher in his hometown of
Jacksonville, Florida. Traveling to New York, he began his show business career along with his brother and
Bob Cole. As a songwriting team, they wrote works such as
The Evolution of Ragtime (
1903). Among the earliest works by the group, this was a suite of six songs of "Negro" music. They produced two successful
Broadway operettas with casts of black actors:
Shoo-Fly Regiment of
1906 and
The Red Moon of
1904. They also created and produced several "white" musicals:
Sleeping Beauty and the Beast in
1901,
In Newport in
1904, and
Humpty Dumpty in
1904. Rosamond would also collaborate to create
Hello, Paris with J. Leubrie Hill in
1911.
J. Rosamond Johnson was active in various musical roles during his career. He toured Vaudeville and, after Cole's
1911 death, began a successful tour with
Charles Hart and
Tom Brown. In London, he wrote music for a theater review from
1912 to
1913 serving a long residency. After returning to the United States, New York's Music School Settlement for Colored—founded by the
New York Symphony Orchestra's David Mannes—appointed him as director where he served from
1914 to
1919. With his own ensembles—The Harlem Rounders and The Inimitable Five—he toured as well, and performed in Negro spiritual concerts with
Taylor Gordon. The London production of
Lew Leslie's
Blackbirds of 1936 engaged Johnson as musical director. During the 1930s, Johnson also sang the role of Frazier in the original production of
Gershwin's
Porgy and Bess, taking roles in other dramas as well. He reprised his role as Frazier on the 1951 studio recording of
Porgy and Bess.
As an editor, he collected four important works. The first two of these song collections he compiled along with his brother James:
The Book of American Negro Spirituals (
1925) and
The Second Book of Negro Spirituals (
1926). In addition, Johnson edited
Shoutsongs (
1936) and the folksong anthology
Rolling Along in Song (
1937).
Musical Works
- Shoo-Fly Regiment (1906), Broadway operetta
- The Red Moon (1904), Broadway operetta
- Sleeping Beauty and the Beast (1901), musical
- In Newport (1904), musical
- Humpty Dumpty (1904), musical
- Mr. Lode of Koal (1909), musical
- Come Over Here (1912), musical
- The Maiden with the Dreamy Eyes, song
- Didn't He Ramble, song
- Li'l Gal, song
- Since You Went Away, song
- Lift Every Voice and Sing, song
Further Information
Get more info on 'J Rosamond Johnson'.
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