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.
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The Will Rossiter Dance Music Folio. Number 1
Will Rossiter
Contains the following songs: "If the Man in the Moon Were a Coon," "Brown of Harvard Waltz," "Clover Blossoms Waltz," "I'll Be Back in a Minutebut I Got to Go Now," "Napanee," "Moonlight Kisses," "Osceola," and "Farewell, My Annabelle."
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Thou Art Risen, My Beloved
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall
From "Songs of Sun and Shade," the poem by Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall.
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Three Negro Spirituals
James R. Gillette
Three Black spirituals - "Deep River," "The Angels Done Changed My Name," and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen".
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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.
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Under the Bamboo Tree: Medley Two-Step
George Rosey, James Wheldon Johnson, Robert Allen Cole, and John Rosamond Johnson
Medley Two Step arranged by George Rosey. 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.
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Vocal Gems of Primrose and West
Mary Dowling Sutton, Gussie L. Davis, Charles Graham, and Harry Von Tilzer
The Vocal Gems from Primrose and West's Big Minstrels.
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Weep No More My Mammy
Lew Pollack, Sidney Clare, and Sidney D. Mitchell
Lyric by Sidney Clare and Sidney D. Mitchell. Music by Lew Pollack.
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When Africa and Ireland Go to War
Gussie Lord Davis and Dan Packard
Gussie Lord Davis was a Black songwriter.
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When the Heart is Sad
Cecil Mack and Tom Lemonier
Tom Lemonier was a Black songwriter. Cecil Mack was a Black songwriter.
