Virginia Minstrels
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Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843. |
The
Virginia Minstrels was a group of
19th Century American entertainers known for helping to invent the entertainment form known as the
minstrel show. Led by
Dan Emmett, the original lineup consisted of Emmett,
Billy Whitlock,
Dick Pelham, and
Frank Brower.
Shortly after their formation, the group premiered at the old
Chatham Square Theatre in
New York City on
February 17,
1843 with what is generally considered the first full-length
blackface minstrel show. Unlike earlier blackface acts, the entire group appeared in blackface and costume, not just a featured singer or dancer; also unlike earlier blackface stage acts, their performance was structured as an entire evening's entertainment.
Among other things, they are credited with the songs "
Jimmy Crack Corn" and "
Old Dan Tucker", which passed into American
folk culture.
External links
*http://www.bussongs.com/songs/jimmy_crack_corn_blue_tail_fly.php
*
Minstrel show* Lott, Eric.
Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 0195078322. p. 136
et. seq.
