Gussie Lord Davis was an African-American songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 born in Dayton

Dayton

Dayton is a city in Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States.Dayton may also refer to:-United States:*Dayton, Alabama*Dayton, California, in Butte County*Dayton, Lassen County, California*Dayton, Idaho*Dayton, Indiana...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. Davis was one of America's earliest successful African-American music artists, having been the first Black songwriter to acquire fame on Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...

 as a composer of popular music.

Early life

Gussie Davis received musical training at the Nelson Musical College in Cincinnati, OH, where his application was rejected due to his color. However, he agreed to give janitorial services at a low wage in exchange for private lessons. Written at the young age of eighteen, We Sat Beneath the Maple on the Hill became a hit which helped propagate his success.

Career

In 1886, Davis was brought to New York for Tin Pan Alley. He had climbed high on the ladder to success within a short time and many of his songs were being published. In 1895, he won second place in a contest sponsored by New York World

New York World

The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers...

 to find the ten best songwriters in the nation. His song, Send Back the Picture and the Ring, won him nearly $500 in gold. Also a performer, he played the piano on Bergen Star Concerts and toured with his Davis Operatic and Plantation Minstrels.

Death

At the time of his death in December 1899, Davis published more than two hundred songs and certainly left more in manuscript. He wrote a variety of musical forms, including sentimental ballads, comic minstrel songs, art songs, and choral music. One of his musicals, A Hot Old Time in Dixie, was on the road when he died.

Notable Songs

• We Sat Beneath the Maple On The Hill
• In The Baggage Coach Ahead
• Footprints In The Snow
• My Creole Sue
• She Waited at the Altar in Vain
• Why Does Papa Stay so Late?

Perhaps his most notable song, Irene, Good Night (1886), entered the folk song repertoire albeit significantly altered as Goodnight, Irene

Goodnight, Irene

"Goodnight, Irene" or "Irene, Goodnight," is a 20th century American folk standard, written in 3/4 time, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1932....

in Negro Folk Songs as Sung by Leadbelly

Leadbelly

Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....

(1936), edited by John Lomax

John Lomax

John Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs...

 and Alan Lomax

Alan Lomax

Alan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...

.

External links

• Library of Congress's electronic archive of Gussie Davis's sheet music
• Life in Nineteeth Century Ohio: Minstrel Songs
• Wylie and the Wild West, Cowboy Ballads and Dance Songs
• Why Does Papa Always Stay So Late Sheet music
• Davis, Gussie Lord - Composer, lyricist, entrepreneur, Early Career Path, Songwriting Successes, Chronology