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is committed to conscious editing of Libraries’ generated descriptive terminology that may be offensive, harmful, or out of date.
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Lasses White All-Star Minstrels Music Album
Leroy Robert "Lasses" White
Pat Your Foot; What Will I Do Without You; If You Knew What It Meant To Be Lonesome
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Little Mother of Mine
H. T. Burleigh and Walter H. Brown
Words by Walter H. Brown, music by H. T. Burleigh.
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Liza, 1922
Maceo Pinkard, Nat Vincent, and Irvin C. Miller
Maceo Pinkard was a Black songwriter. Irvin C. Miller was a Black writer.
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Lord! Have Mercy on a Married Man
J. Fred Helf and Edgar Leslie
Lew. Dockstader's gigantic comic song success.
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Louie Lee
G. W.H. Griffin
Sung by D. S. Wambold of Geo. Christy and Wood's Minstrels. Words by Mrs. L. M. Ward.
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Louisiana Belle
Frank Spencer and Stephen Collins Foster
As sung by Mr. Roark of the Sable Harmonists.
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Love's Philosophy
Clarence Lucas and P. B. Shelley
Malagueña, a Spanish dance of African origin. Words by P. B. Shelley. Music in the Moorish style of Southern Spain by Clarence Lucas.
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Love Will Find a Way
Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake
The name Clara L. Cooney is stamped on the front cover.
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Lovie Joe
Joe Jordan and Will Marion Cook
Will Marion Cook was a Black composer. Joe Jordan was a Black pianist and composer.
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Ma Black Tulip
Charles K. Harris and Joseph Clauder
By the author of the world famous song "After The Ball."
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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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Maggie May
Sherman Creig and R. F.C. Ellis
From Favorite Songs as sung by J. C. Reeves of Hooley and Campbell's Minstrels.
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Mah Little Tater Blossom
Alice Mayfield and Mary Wall Spring
A Southern Dialect Song. Arranged for medium voice and piano. From "Two Songs from the South."
