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Caterina Jarboro

August 13th in African American History – Caterina Jarboro

August 13, 1986 Caterina Jarboro, the first black opera singer to sing on an opera stage in the United States, died. Jarboro was born Katherine Lee Yarborough in Wilmington, North Carolina. At the age of 13, she was sent to Brooklyn, New York to study music. Jarboro also studied in Paris and in 1929 made […]

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Luther Allison

August 12th in African American History – Luther Allison

August 12, 1997 Luther Allison, blues guitarist, died. Allison was born August 17, 1939 in Widener, Arkansas but raised in Chicago, Illinois. Allison taught himself to play the guitar. During the 1950s and early 1960s, he worked the club circuit. He released his debut album, “Love Me Mama”, in 1968. In 1972, Allison was signed […]

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Clarence Cameron White

August 10th in African American History – Clarence Cameron White

August 10, 1880 Clarence Cameron White, violinist, teacher, and composer, was born in Clarkville, Tennessee. White started studying violin at the age of eight and in 1896 entered the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he was the only Black student in the orchestra. Before graduating, he left Oberlin to accept a teaching position. From 1924 […]

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Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr.

August 9th in African American History – Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr.

August 9, 2008 Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr., musician, songwriter, singer and actor, died. Hayes was born August 20, 1942 in Covington, Tennessee. He began his career in the early 1960s as a session player, songwriter, and producer at Stax Records. Along with his partner David Porter, Hayes wrote a string of hits for the artists […]

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Esther Mae Jones Phillips

August 7th in African American History – Esther Mae Jones Phillips

August 7, 1984 Esther Mae Jones Phillips, R&B vocalist, died. Phillips was born December 23, 1935 in Galveston, Texas. In 1949, she won an amateur talent contest and began touring as “Little Esther Phillips.” In 1950, she recorded her first hit record, “Double Crossing Blues,” and that was followed by other hits such as “Mistrusting […]

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Fela Anikulapo Kuti

August 2nd in African American History – Fela Anikulapo Kuti

August 2, 1997 Fela Anikulapo Kuti, multi-instrumentalist, composer and human rights activist, died. Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti on October 15, 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. In 1958, Fela was sent to London to study medicine, but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. In 1963, he moved back to […]

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Theodore Shaw “Teddy” Wilson

July 31st in African American History – Theodore Shaw “Teddy” Wilson

July 31, 1986 Theodore Shaw “Teddy” Wilson, jazz pianist, died. Wilson was born November 24, 1912 in Austin, Texas. He studied piano and violin at Tuskegee Institute. In 1935, Wilson joined the Benny Goodman Trio, becoming the first black musician to perform in public with a previously all-white group.

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