Gussie L. Davis

Gussie L. Davis

Gussie Lord Davis (December 3, 1863 – October 18, 1899) was an American songwriter born in Dayton, Ohio. Davis was one of America's earliest successful African-American music artists, the first black songwriter to become famous on Tin Pan Alley as a composer of popular music.

Birth and Death Data: Born (Dayton (city and county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States)), Died December 18, 1899 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1896 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, songwriter

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 59 records)

Company	Matrix No.	Size	First Recording Date	Title	Primary Performer	Description	Role
Berliner	161	7-in.	4/17/1896	Down in Poverty Row	Artists vary	Male vocal solo	lyricist
Berliner	980	7-in.	Before June 1896	The fatal wedding	George J. Gaskin	Male vocal solo	composer
Berliner	1601	7-in.	11/14/1896	In the baggage coach ahead	Dan W. Quinn	Male vocal solo	composer, lyricist
Berliner	1899	7-in.	9/15/1898	Sing again that sweet refrain	Albert Campbell	Male vocal solo	composer
Berliner	0659	7-in.	10/24/1899	My Creole Sue	Harry Macdonough	Male vocal solo	composer, lyricist
Victor	[Pre-matrix A-]96	7-in.	2/6/1901	Sing again that sweet refrain	Harry Macdonough	Male vocal solo	composer
Victor	[Pre-matrix B-]96	10-in.	1/2/1903	Sing again that sweet refrain	Harry Macdonough	Male vocal solo	composer
Victor	[Pre-matrix A-]1254	7-in.	2/14/1902	My Creole Sue	Haydn Quartet	Male vocal quartet, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	[Pre-matrix B-]1254	10-in.	2/14/1902	My Creole Sue	Haydn Quartet	Male vocal quartet, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	[Pre-matrix B-]1824	10-in.	12/12/1902	An evening with the minstrels	Minstrels [Victor Records group]	Minstrels	composer, lyricist
Victor	[Pre-matrix B-]3081	10-in.	2/6/1901	Sing again that sweet refrain	Harry Macdonough	Male vocal solo	composer
Victor	A-204	7-in.	7/28/1903	My Creole Sue	Haydn Quartet	Male vocal quartet, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	B-204	10-in.	7/28/1903	My Creole Sue	Haydn Quartet	Male vocal quartet, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	A-206	7-in.	7/28/1903	An evening with the minstrels, no. 2	Minstrels [Victor Records group]	Minstrels, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	B-206	10-in.	7/28/1903	An evening with the minstrels, no. 2	Minstrels [Victor Records group]	Minstrels, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	C-206	12-in.	5/24/1905	An evening with the minstrels, no. 2	Victor Minstrel Company	Minstrels, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	A-640	7-in.	11/6/1903	Sing again that sweet refrain	Harry Macdonough	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer
Victor	A-713	7-in.	11/18/1903	Sing again that sweet refrain	Harry Macdonough	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer
Victor	C-16217	12-in.	7/21/1915	Songs of the past, no. 5	Victor Mixed Chorus	Vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra	composer, lyricist
Victor	B-28829	10-in.	11/1/1923	My Creole Sue	Shannon Quartet	Male vocal quartet, with orchestra	composer
Victor	B-32016	10-in.	2/26/1925	In the baggage coach ahead	Vernon Dalhart	Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar (takes 1 and 2); with violin and piano (takes 3 and 4)	composer, lyricist
Victor	B-32226	10-in.	3/19/1925	In the baggage coach ahead	Vernon Dalhart	Male vocal solo, with violin, guitar, and male vocal trio	composer, lyricist
Victor	BVE-35696	10-in.	6/17/1926	We sat beneath the maple on the hill	Vernon Dalhart ; Carson Robison	Male vocal duet, with violin and guitar	composer
Victor	BVE-49424	10-in.	6/6/1929	The boy in blue	Stuart Hamblen	Male vocal solo, with guitar	composer
Victor	BVE-56410	10-in.	10/17/1929	If I only could blot out the past	Monroe Lamb ; Frank Wheeler	Male vocal duet, with guitar (self-accompaniment)	lyricist, composer

(Results 1-25 of 59 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Davis, Gussie L.," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107937.

Davis, Gussie L.. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107937.

"Davis, Gussie L.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.