Sources
The script is based on Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom, Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm, and Race. NY: Oxford Univ. Press, 2020.
Lottie Gee is also briefly mentioned in other biographies of Eubie Blake:
- Lawrence Carter, Eubie Blake: Keys of Memory. Detroit: Balamp Publishing, 1979.
- Robert Kimball and William Bolcom, Reminiscing with Sissle and Blake. NY: Viking Press, 1973.
- Al Rose, Eubie Blake, NY: Schirmer Books, 1979.
Part I: Being Lottie Gee
Opening Music: "Love Will Find A Way" by The Seven Black Dots, Pathé, 78 rpm recording, recorded c. August 29, 1921; Library of Congress, American Jukebox: https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010774/
“I was born Charlotte M. Gee…”: Gee’s birth information comes from her 1919 application for a U.S. passport and the US Census. Some sources say she was born in Newport, Kentucky, although this does not appear to be supported by the documentary record. See “Gee, Charlotte ‘Lottie,’” Notable Kentucky African-Americans Database, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/300003652
“In no other field…”: Whittier H. Wright, “Two Clever Performers: Efficient Work of Misses King and Gee Worth of Praise,” The Broad Ax (Salt Lake City), Aug. 9, 1913, p. 3.
Lottie Gee’s appearance in The Red Moon and subsequent tour of Europe with Will Marion Cook: These appearances are documented in several press accounts; see, for example, “In Darkest 63d St.,” New York Herald, June 26, 1921, p. 36.
"Under the Bamboo Tree": This was one of the best-loved songs written by African-American composer/lyricist Bob Cole and J. Rosamund Johnson, who also scored The Red Moon and other musicals. This version is sung by white vaudevillian Marie Cahill, Victor 45125, 78 rpm, recorded May 5, 1917; Library of Congress, American Jukebox, https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-23943/.
“Management permits Negroes…”: Jean-Claude Baker and Chris Chase, Josephine, New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001, p. 70.
“Miss Gee has an act..,”: “Lottie Gee Scores Big Vaudeville Hit,” New York Age, September 4, 1920, p. 6.
Audio interview with Eubie Blake: Conducted by Rudi Blesh and Mike Lipscomb in 1967; private archival source.
“I’m Just Simply Full of Jazz”: Noble Sissle, Pathé 22284, 78 rpm, issued March 1920.
“Eubie paid for my apartment…”: Draft manuscript for the biography Eubie Blake by Al Rose, p. 98; not included in published book; Maryland Historical Society, Eubie Blake Collection, MHS 2800, Box 68
“Absolutely Harmless…”: Advertisement for Sophia’s Triple Special Promenade in the Pittsburgh Courier, July 21, 1923, p. 13.
“Forrest Theater, Philadelphia, PA…”: Letter reproduced in advertisement for Sophia’s Triple Special Promenade in the Pittsburgh Courier, July 21, 1923, p. 13.
“I found myself…”: Benetta Jules-Rosette, Josephine Baker in Art and Life, Chicago: U of Chicago Press, 2007, p. 57.
“They made me wear Aunt Jemimy clothes…”: Alberta Hunter, 60 Minutes, interview by Morley Safer, 1978; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEk0_bMqxvk
“I’m Going Away Just to Wear You Off My Mind”: Alberta Hunter, vocal, Eubie Blake Piano; Paramount 12006, 78 rpm, released Sept. 26, 1922.
Part II: “Love Will Find A Way”
“I’m Just Wild About Harry” performed by Noble Sissle and Ruth Williams (vocals) and Eubie Blake. From an acetate recording made in 1950. Private collection; reissued on Harbinger Records CD 3402.
“White audiences…”: Lester A. Walton, “Shuffle Along Latest Musical Gem to Invade Broadway,” New York Age, June 4, 1921, p. 6. Note that Walton was an African-American critic who had written Broadway shows and had a regular column in the New York Age, one of the country’s leading Black newspapers.
“On opening night in New York…”: Robert Kimball and William Bolcom, Reminiscing with Sissle and Blake, NY: Viking Press, 1973, pp. 94, 95.
Eubie Blake and Alberta Hunter on “Love Will Find A Way”: 60 Minutes, interview by Morley Safer, 1978; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEk0_bMqxvk
Part III: “Good Girls and Wicked Women”
“For the first time…”: Lester Walton, “‛Shuffle Along’ Latest Musical Gem to Invade Broadway,” New York Age, June 4, 1921, p. 6.
“Daddy Won’t You Please Come Home”: Gertrude Saunders (vocal), J. Tim Brymn’s Black Devil Orchestra (acc.), OKeh 8004, 78 rpm, issued May 1921.
“I wanted to sing…”: Paraphrased from a newspaper interview with Lottie Gee, “She Realized Her Ambition,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 13, 1923, p. 96.
“Ave Maria,” sung by Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial, 1938. US National Archives, on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xodhypFAFJw; see also https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/MarianAndersonLincolnMem.pdf
“Pint sized prima donna…”: “‛Shuffle Along’ Success Paves Way for Negro Grand Opera,” Buffalo Courier, April 22, 1923, p. 12.
"Love Will Find A Way": Charlotte Hollomon and Laverne Hutchinson (vocals), Eubie Blake (piano). From an acetate recording made in 1950. Private collection; reissued on Harbinger Records CD 3402.
“”Mr. Blake…”: Paraphrased from draft manuscript for Eubie Blake by Al Rose, p. 98; not included in published book; Maryland Historical Society, Eubie Blake Collection, MHS 2800, Box 68
Eubie Blake performs "Love Will Find A Way," c. 1976. Private collection recording.