![Black American Sheet Music Collection](../assets/md5images/631533aad9ebc1056849446027776b8a.jpg)
Black American Sheet Music Collection
The Bank of America Black American Sheet Music Collection consists of approximately 4000 pieces of published sheet music reflecting the influences of African Americans on popular music in the United States. The music was created by, performed by, published by, or portrays Black and African American themes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States. The collection highlights popular vocal music, jazz, big band, and swing music published in the United States. The earliest piece in the collection dates to 1818, and the latest editions date into the 1980s, thereby giving a chronicle of the evolution of Black-inspired music in America for almost 200 years. Some imagery and lyrics in this collection reflect harmful racist depictions of Black people and are included in the collections for their use in academic research.
Content Warning:
USF Libraries’ Digital Collections include historical and primary sources from many cultures and time periods. Some content may be harmful, graphic, difficult to view, or reflect biases. Digital Collections provides access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. USF Libraries’ is committed to conscious editing of Libraries’ generated descriptive terminology that may be offensive, harmful, or out of date.
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Old Black Joe, C
F. W. Meacham and Stephen Collins Foster
With beautiful variations for the piano by F. W. Meacham. Originally by Stephen C. Foster.
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I May Be Crazy, But I Ain't No Fool
Alexander Claude Rogers
Sung with roaring success by Mr. Bert Williams of Williams and Walker.
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Ma Mississippi belle
John Rosamond Johnson and Bob Cole
Robert Allen Cole was a Black lyricist. John Rosamond Johnson was a Black composer.
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Shine on My Evening Star
John Rosamond Johnson and Robert Allen Cole
Robert Allen Cole was a Black lyricist. John Rosamond Johnson was a Black composer.
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Sounds of the Times
John Rosamond Johnson and Robert Allen Cole
Robert Allen Cole was a Black lyricist. John Rosamond Johnson was a Black composer.
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Magdaline, My Southern Queen!
John Rosamond Johnson, Robert Allen Cole, and James Weldon Johnson
Robert Allen Cole was a Black lyricist. John Rosamond Johnson was a Black composer. Cole wrote the words alongside Johnson's brother James Weldon Johnson, a Black American writer and civil rights activist.
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Marie Cahill's Congo Love Song, B
John Rosamond Johnson, Robert Allen Cole, and James Weldon Johnson
Robert Allen Cole was a Black lyricist. John Rosamond Johnson was a Black composer. Cole wrote the words alongside Johnson's brother James Weldon Johnson, a Black American writer and civil rights activist.
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Marie Cahill's Congo Love Song
John Rosamond Johnson, James Weldon Johnson, John Frew, and Bob Cole
James Weldon Johnson was a Black writer. John Rosamond Johnson was a Black composer.
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Old Black Joe, D
Frederic Lewis and Stephen Collins Foster
With beautiful variations for the piano by Frederic Lewis.
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I'm A Jonah Man
Bert Williams and Alexander Claude Rogers
Bert Williams was a Black American entertainer.
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Down Where The Cocoanut Grows
Frederick V. Bowers and Charles Horwitz
A piece composed by the songwriting duo Horwitz and Bowers for voice and piano in the key G major. Featured in the 1902 musical "Sally in Our Alley."
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My Southern Pearl
Phil E. Collins and Edward M. Wickes
Words by Edward M. Wickes. Music by Phil E. Collins.
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The White-Smith Minstrel Opening Chorus
W. H. Gardner and H. F. Odell
Words by W. H. Gardner. Music by H. F. Odell.
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Under the Bamboo Tree
James Wheldon Johnson, Robert Allen Cole, and John Rosamond Johnson
Robert Allen Cole was a Black lyricist. Also contributing to the arrangement were James Weldon Johnson, a Black American writer and civil rights activist, and his brother John Rosamond Johnson, a Black American composer.