
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 12th, 1874 (Nassau), Died March 4th, 1922 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1896 - 1933
Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal, composer, songwriter, piano, speaker, lyricist, author
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 141 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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-]996 | 10-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 | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano | |
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 | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano, songwriter | |
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 | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano, songwriter | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]998 | 10-in. | 11/8/1901 | The ghost of a coon | Bert Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano, songwriter | |
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 | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano, songwriter | |
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-]999 | 10-in. | 10/11/1901 | Her name's Miss Dinah Fair | Williams and Walker | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano | |
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-]1083 | 10-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 | vocalist, baritone vocal, songwriter | |
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 | vocalist, baritone vocal, songwriter | |
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 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-]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 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-]1894 | 10-in. | 1/14/1903 | 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 | vocalist, baritone vocal, instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Williams, Bert," accessed March 3, 2021, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103803.
Williams, Bert. (2021). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103803.
"Williams, Bert." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2021. Web. 3 March 2021.
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: https://viaf.org/viaf/103647176/
MusicBrainz: Williams, Bert, 1874-1922 - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0e578f5c-bdfc-43fa-bd9a-9d5b67ef353b
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