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is committed to conscious editing of Libraries’ generated descriptive terminology that may be offensive, harmful, or out of date.
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You're Lucky To Me
Andy Razaf and Eubie Blake
Introduced by Ethel Waters in Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1930.
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Am I Blue?
Harry Akst and Grant Clarke
From On With the Show. Lyrics by Grant Clarke. Music by Harry Akst.
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Birmingham Bertha
Harry Akst and Grant Clarke
From On With the Show. Lyrics by Grant Clarke. Music by Harry Akst.
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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."
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The Original Boogie Woogie
Clarence "Pine-Top" Smith and Tiny Parham
Piano Solo by Clarence "Pine-Top" Smith. Edited by Tiny Parham.
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You're Calling Me, Georgia
Bernie Grossman, Eddie Nelson, and J. Eubie Blake
J. Eubie Blake was a Black composter.
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At the Cotton Gin: A Southern Sketch for Piano
Florence Beatrice Smith Price
Florence B. Price was a Black composer
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Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen: Negro Spiritual: Theme with Variations
Henry S. Sawyer
"Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" is a traditional Black spiritual.
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Onaway! Awake, Beloved!
S. Coleridge-Taylor and H. W. Longfellow
From the Cantata "Hiawatha's Wedding Feast."
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George White's Scandals
George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson
Black Bottom Eighth Annual Edition. Comedy scenes by George White and William K. Wells. Lyrics by B. G. de Sylva and Lew Brown. Staged by George White.
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Mandy Lou
Frederick Hall and Paul Laurence Dunbar
Words by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Music by Frederick Hall.
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Roll, Jordan, Roll: Song: Negro Spiritual
Henri F. Klickmann
"Roll, Jordan, Roll" is a traditional Black spiritual.
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Kiss Me
Duncan Sisters and Sam H. Harris
The Duncan Sisters by arrangement with Sam H. Harris in "Topsy and Eva."
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Sugar Foot Stomp
Joseph Nathan Oliver
An Elmer Schoebel Arrangement. Written by Joe Oliver, also known as Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver, who was a Black American jazz musician noted for mentoring Louis Armstrong.