Bert Williams
Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-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 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 American 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." |
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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, lyricist, author, organ
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 142 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Berliner | 1611 | 7-in. | 11/16/1896 | I thought I was a winner | George J. Gaskin | Male vocal solo | lyricist, composer | |
Berliner | 1730 | 7-in. | 5/19/1897 | Miss Maria Johnson | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Berliner | 1964 | 7-in. | Before Apr. 1899 | Why don’t you get a lady of your own | John Terrell | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Berliner | 011 | 7-in. | 4/8/1899 | I don’t like no cheap man | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Berliner | 0143 | 7-in. | Before June 1899 | He’s up against the real thing now | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | composer | |
Berliner | 0989 | 7-in. | 2/17/1900 | The medicine man | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Berliner | 01002 | 7-in. | 2/19/1900 | Why don't you get a lady of your own | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]647 | 10-in. | 9/19/1902 | If you love your baby, make dem goo-goo eyes | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]647 | 7-in. | 2/2/1901 | If you love your baby, make dem goo-goo eyes | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]741 | 10-in. | 4/26/1901 | She's getting more like the white folks every day | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]741 | 7-in. | 4/26/1901 | She's getting more like the white folks every day | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]742 | 10-in. | 4/26/1901 | My fortune-telling man | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]742 | 7-in. | 4/26/1901 | My fortune-telling man | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]987 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | I don't like that face you wear | Williams and Walker | Male vocal duet, with piano | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]987 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | I don't like that face you wear | Williams and Walker | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]991 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | In my castle on the River Nile | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]991 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | In my castle on the River Nile | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]992 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | The phrenologist coon | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]992 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | The phrenologist coon | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]993 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | Where was Moses when the lights went out? | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]993 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | Where was Moses when the light went out? | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]994 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | All going out and nothing coming in | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]994 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | When it's all going out and nothing coming in | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]995 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | Junie | George Walker | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]995 | 7-in. | 10/11/1901 | Junie | George Walker | Male vocal solo, with piano | instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Williams, Bert," accessed May 28, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103803.
Williams, Bert. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 28, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103803.
"Williams, Bert." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 28 May 2023.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
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
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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