Musicians & Entertainers Black History Posters & Prints, “B...-”
for the classroom, home schoolers, inspirational images for the home or office.

Pearl Bailey
b. 3-29-1918; Southampton Co., Virginia
d. 8-17-1990; Philadelphia (heart disease)

Singer and actress Pearl Bailey began her career in vaudeville, making her Broadway debut in the musical St. Louis Woman in 1946. She played “Frankie” in the film version of Carmen Jones, “Maria” in the film version of Porgy and Bess, and “Aunt Hagar” in the movie St. Louis Blues. Bailey won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968.

Bill Bailey, Photo

Pearl Bailey was the sister of tap dancer Bill Bailey.

Pearl Bailey quotes ~
• “Hungry people cannot be good at learning or producing anything, except perhaps violence.”
• “The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one's self. All sin is easy after that.”

• women musicians list

Josephine Baker
b. 6-4-1906; St. Louis, Missouri
d. 4-12-1974; France

Josephine Baker made her way to New York, and eventually on to Paris in 1925, where she became the toast of Europe.

• more Josephine Baker posters

William James “Count” Basie
b. 8-11-1904; Red Bank, New Jersey
d. 4-26-1984; Florida

“Count” Basie was an American jazz pianist, composer, jazz bandleader, and one of the outstanding big band organizers.

During the late 1930s, his band was already considers as a precursor of modern jazz with its unique style of lightness, precision, and relaxation.

Basie's syncopated and spare but exquisitely time chording, commonly termed “comping”, became a model for piano accompaniments the next 30 years of jazz.

Many musicians considered Basie's to be the major big band in jazz history. His rhythmic conception and tonal balance provided a basis for several soloists to develop their own style.

FYI ~ Count Basie once told Fred's eldest son Michael that he had a very wise father...

• Count Basie's Finest Hour, CD
• Frank Szasz portrait of Count Basie

Harry Belafonte
b. 3-1-1927; New York City, NY

• Harry Belafonte at Amazon.com

Chuck Berry
b. 10-18-1926; St. Louis, MO

• Chuck Berry at Amazon.com

Halle Berry
b. 8-14-1966; Cleveland, OH

Actress, former fashion model, and beauty queen Halle Berry became the first and, as of 2011, only woman of African American descent to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Monster's Ball, 2001).

Eubie Blake, Photographic Print

Eubie Blake
b. 2-7-1883; Baltimore, MD
d. 2-13-1983

“Emily Johnson, a former slave, took her 4-year-old son James Hubert Blake shopping one day. When little James saw a $75 pipe organ in a store, he climbed up and started to play it as if he had been playing all his life. His mother, astounded at her son's gifts, bought him the organ. That was the beginning of “Eubie” Blake's musical career.

Eubie Blake had already made a name for himself as a songwriter and dancer by 1915, when he partnered with songriter Noble Sissle. Within a week, the famous singer Sphie Tucker had performed their first song, “It's All Your Fault.” Blake and Sissle wrote many classic songs together, including the songs for Shuffle Along, the first all black musical on Broadway. Some historians say that Shuffle Along was the start of the Harlem Renaissance, because it sparked the curiosity of many white theatergoers who then wanted to see Harlem for themselves.

Even after he parted ways with Sissle, Blake continued to work for decades as a songwriter and entertainer. In all, he published more than 350 songs! He continued performing onstage and on television well into his 90s. Eubie Blake died in 1983 at age 100.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Future star Josephine Baker was a member of the chorus line the show, Shuffle Along.

Among Blake's compositions were the hits “Bandana Days”, “Charleston Rag”, “Love Will Find A Way”, “Memories of You”, and “I'm Just Wild About Harry”.

• more Stars of the Harlem Renaissance posters
• Eubie Blake music and books
• pianist & piano posters

Mary Jane Blige
b. 1-11-1971; The Bronx, NY

Mary j. Blige, singer, record producer, and actress, has won nine Grammy Awards, received the World Music Legends Award for hip hop and soul, selling over 48 million records worldwide (2008).

• women musicians list

James Brown
b. 5-23-1933; South Carolina
d. 12-25-2006; Atlanta, GA

James Brown, “The Godfather of Soul”, was one of the most influential figures in popular music during the 20th century. He was a singer, songwriter, record producer in rock, jazz, disco, and hip hop.

• Live at the Apollo, CD

Grace Bumbry In Concert [DVD Video]

Grace Bumbry
b. 1-4-1937; St. Louis, MO

Mezzo-soprano opera singer Grace Bumbry, noted for her “fiery temperament and dramatic intensity on stage”, was the first black singer to perform at Bayreuth in 1961.

Harry Burleigh
b. 12-2-1866; Erie, Pennsylvania
d. 9-12-1949; New York, NY (heart failure)

Harry Burleigh was a classical composer, arranger, and professional singer in the baritone range. He was one of the first recognized black composers and helped present black music to classical music artists such as Anton Dvorak.