Historical Recordings Of "Shuffle Along"
The current Broadway revival of "Shuffle Along" has helped spark interest in the original landmark of African American musical theater which opened on Broadway in 1921 and ran for 504 performances. The Musical Theater Project, a nonprofit corporation devoted to the preservation of American musicals and the Great American Songbook, has released this selection of rare excerpts from "Shuffle Along" featuring lyricist Noble Sissle (1889 -- 1975) and composer Eubie Blake (1887 -- 1983). This recording is a thoroughly delightful way to get to know the work.
The recording consists of 21 tracks arranged in the order in which they appeared in the 1921 show. The CD includes eight songs that Sissle and Blake recorded for a proposed 1950 revival of "Shuffle Along" that never got off the ground. The rare recordings were found and remastered and presented for the first time here. The sound quality does not meet modern standards, but it is more than adequate to hear and enjoy this music.
"Shuffle Along" was a musical review with a loose story line set in a fictitious small town called Jimtown. The music is a mix of vaudeville, ragtime, and Broadway. It still sparkles today and is toe-tapping and fun. The most famous song from the show, "I'm just wild about Harry" gets a rousing performance with vocals by Sissle and Ruth Williams with Blake at the piano and is also performed in a pair of medleys. Another well-known song, "Love Will Find A Way" is sung by Ivan Harold Browning. Sissel and Blake thought this song would be controversial as they feared audiences of the time would not respond well to expressions of deep emotion in an African American show. Fortunately, they proved mistaken.
The songs are immediately accessible and it is difficult not to love them at first hearing. I particularly enjoyed the piano role medley of songs from the show performed by an unknown pianist and at unknown time. "Baltimore Buzz" is a lively, rhythmic instrumental number performed by Blake on the piano. The opening track, "Shuffle Along Medley" showcases several of the show's leading tunes. And "Daddy Won't You Please Come Home", a late addition to the 1921 show, receives a belting, show-stopping performance from Gertrude Saunders, a member of the original cast. The CD also includes some spoken scenes of comedy dialogue. There are two parodies of "election day" in Jimtown with two corrupt candidates as well as an honest candidate running for mayor, a scene called "Jimtown Fisticuffs" and a final scene, "Fourth of July in Jimtown". Each of these has rapid-fire dialogue.
In addition to the music, the CD includes a 25-page booklet, "A Brief History of Shuffle Along" by Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom which traces the history of African American Musical Theater from the late 19th Century through the long, difficult path that led to "Shuffle Along's" Broadway success. I learned a great deal from the booklet, and it enhanced my appreciation of the recordings and of African American music.
The Musical Theater Project deserves thanks for presenting these historic recordings. I enjoyed listening to "Shuffle Along" and hearing the ties to ragtime and vaudeville. This CD will delight listeners both for itself and for the light it casts on American musical theater. The CD is distributed by Naxos, and Naxos kindly sent me a copy to review.
Total Time: 64:17
Robin Friedman
