Bert Williams
Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He is credited as being the first Black man to have the leading role in a film: Darktown Jubilee in 1914. He was by far the best-selling Black recording artist before 1920. In 1918, the New York Dramatic Mirror called Williams "one of the great comedians of the world." Williams was a key figure in the development of African-American entertainment. In an age when racial inequality and stereotyping were commonplace, he became the first black person to take a lead role on the Broadway stage, and did much to push back racial barriers during his three-decade-long career. Fellow vaudevillian W. C. Fields, who appeared in productions with Williams, described him as "the funniest man I ever saw—and the saddest man I ever knew." |
Birth and Death Data: Born November 12, 1874 (Nassau), Died March 4, 1922 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1896 - 1946
Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal, composer, songwriter, piano, speaker, organ, lyricist, author
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 142 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]996 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | Good afternoon, Mr. Jenkins | George Walker | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]996 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | Good afternoon, Mr. Jenkins | George Walker | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]997 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | Good morning, Carrie | Williams and Walker | Male vocal duet, with piano | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]997 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | Good morning, Carrie | Williams and Walker | Male vocal duet, with piano | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]998 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | The ghost of a coon | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | songwriter, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]998[a] | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | If you love your baby, make dem goo-goo eyes | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | songwriter, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]998 | 10-in. | 11/8/1901 | The ghost of a coon | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | songwriter, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]998[a] | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | If you love your baby, make dem goo-goo eyes | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | songwriter, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]999 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | Her name's Miss Dinah Fair | Williams and Walker | Male vocal duet, with piano | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]999 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | Her name's Miss Dinah Fair | George Walker | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1083 | 10-in. | 11/8/1901 | The fortune-telling man | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1083 | 7-in. | 11/8/1901 | The fortune-telling man | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1084 | 10-in. | 11/8/1901 | My little Zulu babe | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1085 | 7-in. | 11/8/1901 | She's getting more like the white folks every day | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | songwriter, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1085 | 10-in. | 11/8/1901 | She's getting more like the white folks every day | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | songwriter, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1086 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | My little Zulu babe | Williams and Walker | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1086 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | My little Zulu babe | Williams and Walker | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1126 | 7-in. | 12/4/1901 | The fortune-telling man | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1126 | 10-in. | 12/4/1901 | The fortune-telling man | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1894 | 10-in. | 1/14/1903 | All goin' out and nothin' comin' in | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1894 | 7-in. | 1/14/1903 | When it's all goin' out and nothin' comin' in | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3069 | 10-in. | 2/2/1901 | If you love your baby, make dem goo-goo eyes | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3283 | 10-in. | 4/26/1901 | She is getting more like the white folks every day | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3284 | 10-in. | 4/26/1901 | The fortune-telling man | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3609 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | In my castle on the River Nile | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Williams, Bert," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103803.
Williams, Bert. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103803.
"Williams, Bert." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Bert Williams
Discogs: Bert Williams
Grove: Bert Williams
IMDb: Bert Williams
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Williams, Bert, 1874-1922 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82115395
Wikidata: Bert Williams - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2397929
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/103647176
MusicBrainz: Bert Williams - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0e578f5c-bdfc-43fa-bd9a-9d5b67ef353b
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