Product Review

Professor Allen Debus takes us on a fascinating journey into the late 19th century, when the minstrel show was in its last stages of popularity. He shows us that the final big-name minstrel shows were a different affair than their predecessors of one and two generations before. The difference? Whereas racist caricatures continued to dominate the minstrel First Part, minstrel celebrities such as Richard Jose and Manuel Romain dominated the Olio portion of the minstrel show, singing sentimental ballads and moving the minstrel show toward the personality-based aesthetic that characterized vaudeville. Fortunately for us today, a handful of minstrel veterans committed their voices to wax at the dawn of the recording industry—and one former minstrel, Billy Murray, became the biggest acoustic-era personality and the singer most called upon to sing minstrel songs when original cast members were unavailable.