|
James A. Bland
Bland's father, one of the first Negroes to receive a college education, was appointed examiner in the U. S. Patent Office, the first Negro to hold that post. The family moved to Washington, D.C., where James attended Public School. He enjoyed singing his own compositions to a banjo accompaniment. He became a page in the U.S. House of Representatives. He often performed before members of the Manhattan Club, and at homes of other Washington notables.
After high school, James and his father both enrolled in Howard University; James to study Liberal Arts, and his father to study Law. James graduated at age 19. His main ambition was to become a stage performer. He applied for positions with some Minstrel groups but was turned down, because they preferred White men playing in blackface. In 1875, he got his first job with Billy Kersands all-negro minstrel group. He then toured the U.S. with Kersands; with Callender's Original Georgia Minstrels (managed by the Frohman Bros.), and other companies.
In 1881, James traveled to England as a member of the Callender-Haverly Minstrels. They were very popular, and he even performed for Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales. At that time, he was making about $10,000 a year, which was quite a bit of money for those years, but Bland was quite careless about his money. Penniless, he managed to return to the U.S. where a friend got him a job in Washington, D.C. From there he drifted to Philadelphia, PA, where he died penniless.
He was buried in an unmarked grave in a part of the negro cemetary in Merion, PA. In 1939. ASCAP found his grave site, landscaped it and erected a monument. In 1940, the Virginial State Legislature made "Carry Me Back To Old Virginny" the official state song.
Ralph Blane
In the 1930s, he began his career as a singer, and also worked as a vocal arranger for such Broadway musicals as Pal Joey, DuBarry Was a Lady, and Cabin in the Sky. He also appeared as a vocalist in the Broadway musical, Hooray For What, and 'The Martins', --a vocal quartet formed with his good friend Hugh Martin, later appeared on radio's 'Fred Allen Show'.
Later on, the Blane and Martin team contributed songs for the 1941 Broadway hit, Best Foot Forward, which MGM turned into a screen musical in 1943. In Hollywood, they contributed music to many more films, including My Dream Is Yours, My Blue Heaven, One Sunday Afternoon and Meet Me in St. Louis, -perhaps their single biggest success. The film's star, Judy Garland, sang some of their best works including "The Trolley Song," "The Boy Next Door" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Blane went on to compose music for other films such as The Girl Rush, Athena, Skirts Ahoy, and Summer Holiday.
In 1952, Blane was back on Broadway, writting the words and the music for the musical, Three Wishes for Jamie. In 1989, a stage version of Meet Me in St. Louis was produced on Broadway. which featured ten new songs by the Blane and Martin team. Blane has also sung in night clubs. While his chief collaborator is Hugh Martin, others include: Harold Arlen, Roger Edens, and Harry Warren. During his film music career, Ralph Blane was twice nominated for Academy awards. Upon his demise, he was survived by his son, George, also of Broken Arrow,
Oklahoma.
And, while his best-known lyrics may be:
A list of Ralph Blane's many credits would include Vocal arrangements for the Broadway musicals:
His Broadway stage scores include:
His Film scores include:
The Television score:
Among his songs are:
One of his other works is:
Rube Bloom
Among his many songs are:
One reader, Mr. Anthony Ponaras, confirms that Bloom's given name was pronounced
"Ruby". Bloom and Mr. Ponaras' father were good friends. Bloom's nephew, Dick
Feingold, has also confirmed this pronounciation to Mr. Ponaras.
Jerry Bock
He enrolled in the University of Wisconsin, where he impulsively decided to
apply to the School of Music. (His original idea was to study journalism -
he had been editor of the Flushing High School newspaper.) At his
audition, he played a group of his own variations on Army bugle calls. The
school accepted him, --on the condition that he would enroll as a complete
beginner.
In 1949, he left Wisconsin for New York. In 1950, he married Patti Faggen,
whom he had met at Wisconsin. Jerry had a successful audition with Max
Liebman, the TV show producer, who teamed him with lyricist Larry
Holofcener. Bock and Holofcener wrote the score for Liebman's 'Admiral (Television)
Broadway Revue', and later the team also wrote material for Liebman's 'Your Show
of Shows', starring Sid Caeser and Imogene Coca. All told, he worked three years for
Liebman.
Bock and Holofcener then earned a living by writing continuity and special
material for several TV shows, including the Kate Smith Show, and Mel Torme.
In 1955, they wrote some background music for 'Wonders of Manhattan', a New
York movie travelogue. They also contributed three songs to a Broadway
musical, 'Catch a Star'. Jule Styne commissioned Bock and Holofcener to
write the score for his new show 'Mr. Wonderful', starring Sammy Davis, Jr.
This show had Bock's first big hit, "Too Close For Comfort". The team
wrote three numbers for the show 'Ziegfeld Follies', with Tallulah Bankhead.
In 1958, Bock worked with Lyricist Sheldon Harnick, on the score for 'The
Body Beautiful', which ran for two months before closing.
Bock and Harnick then received a commission from Harold S. Prince and Robert E.
Griffith to write the score for a play to be called 'Fiorello'. It was a
smash hit with songs like "Little Tin Box", "Politics and Poker", and "When
Did I Fall In Love".
Jerry and family currentle (2002) enjoy living in a suburb of New York City.
|