Sissle, Noble, 1889-1975

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American musician Noble Sissle, who was born on July 10, 1889, in Indianapolis, Indiana, was also an actor, publisher, lyricist, and author.

A singer with touring bands in the early 1900s, Sissle later teamed up with Eubie Blake for vaudeville acts and wrote the lyrics for several Blake scores, including "Shuffle Along," a successful Broadway production. Among the many songs that Sissle and Blake wrote are "I'm Just Wild About Harry," "Hello Sweetheart, Hello," and "I Was Meant for You."

Sissle, who was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, appeared in several motion pictures and founded the Negro Actors Guild. Sissle continued performing until 1972, when he received Yale's Ellington Medal for a distinguished career in music. Noble Sissle died on December 17, 1975, in Tampa, Florida.

American poet Langston Hughes, who was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri, also wrote novels, stories, plays, as well as edited several anthologies.

Regarded as a pioneer of modern black literature, Langston Hughes frequently wrote about the attitudes and experiences of everyday black Americans. In 1926, his first book of poems, The Weary Blues, was published by Knopf. During the 1960s Hughes's poetry reflected the racial turbulence of the times. Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz contained poems offered scenarios for resolving racial segregation.

On May 22, 1967, Langston Hughes died of congestive heart failure in New York City. The Panther and the Lash, Hughes's final book of poetry, was published posthumously, and included such protest poems as "Black Panther" and "The Backlash Blues."

"Noble Sissle." Contemporary Authors Online. (reproduced in Biography In Context). http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ (accessed May 2, 2013).

"Langston Hughes." Contemporary Black Biography . Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1993. (reproduced in Biography In Context). http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ (accessed May 2, 2013).

From the guide to the Swingtime at the Savoy : Good Time No. 1 : radio transcript, 1948 July 28, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections, 1831-1993 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
referencedIn Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983. [Papers] Harvard University, Loeb Music Library
referencedIn Noble Sissle collection, [ca. 1975-ongoing]. Museum of Performance & Design
creatorOf Swingtime at the Savoy : Good Time No. 1 : radio transcript, 1948 July 28 University of Delaware Library - Special Collections
referencedIn Anka, Paul. Musicians Collection, 1727-1981, (bulk 1900-1940). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Flournoy Miller collection, 1928-1971, 1941-1951 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
creatorOf Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983. Dixie moon / [by Sissle & Blake]. Library of Congress
referencedIn Johnny Green additional papers, 1923-1989. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Europe, James Reese, 1881-1919. James Reese Europe collection, 1847-1996 New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Hatch-Billops Collection of oral histories, [ca. 1965-1980]. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Blake and Sissle collection, [ca. 1933-ongoing]. Museum of Performance & Design
referencedIn Blue, Bertha, ca. 1877-1963. Bertha Blue family papers, 1908-1989. Western Reserve Historical Society, Research Library
creatorOf Handy, W. C. (William Christopher), 1873-1958. W.C. Handy collection, 1914-1954. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Flournoy Miller collection, 1928-1971 1941-1951. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn W.C. Handy collection, 1914-1954 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
referencedIn Sue Brandt McBee Collection of African American Culture AR. 2001. 020., 1980-2003., 1950-2003. Austin History Center , Austin Public Library, 810 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas, 78701.
referencedIn William Stanley Braithwaite Papers, 1916-1962 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn James Reese Europe collection, 1847-1996 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
referencedIn Johnson, Helen A. Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections, 1831-1993. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Negro Actors Guild of America. Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1938-1977. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983. person
associatedWith Blue, Bertha, ca. 1877-1963. person
associatedWith Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962 person
associatedWith Europe, James Reese, 1881-1919. person
associatedWith Green, Johnny, 1908-1989 person
associatedWith Handy, W. C. (William Christopher), 1873-1958. person
associatedWith Hatch-Billops Collection, Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967 person
associatedWith Johnson, Helen A. person
associatedWith McBee, Sue Brandt corporateBody
associatedWith Miller, Flournoy E., 1886-1971. person
associatedWith National Broadcasting Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Negro Actors Guild of America. corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 369th corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
Subject
Jazz
Radio programs, Musical
Occupation
Musicians
Poets
Activity

Person

Birth 1889-07-10

Death 1975-12-17

Information

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SNAC ID: 24823152