The offensive title is somewhat misleading. In the song, the insulting words are said not by a white man who is looking down on blacks, but by a black woman who is explaining her attraction to a new boyfriend who had supplanted all other men in her heart, and she has no eyes for anyone else. The song sold extremely well not only as sheet music but as wax cylinders, but they were not reissued because of the racist implications. Nevertheless, the song was so popular that it was adopted by white singers as well as black ones.
Lyrics of the song: All Coons look alike to me
[Verse]
Talk about a coon a having
trouble
I think I have enough of ma own
It's all about ma Lucy Janey Stubbles
And she has caused my heart to mourn
Thar's another coon barber from Virginia
In soci'ty he's the leader of the day
And now ma honey gal is gwine to quit me
Yes, she's gone and drove this coon [i.e., me] away
She's no excuse
To turn me loose
I've been abused
I'm all confused
'Cause these words she did say:
[CHORUS]
All coons look alike to me
I've got another beau, you see,
And he's just as good to me as you, nig! ever tried to be
He spends his money free,
I know we can't agree
So I don't like you no how
All coons look alike to me
Ernest Hogan further developed the popularity of this type of music by creating the “Memphis Students”, an all black orchestra, in 1905. This orchestra was a novelty to white audiences, who greatly enjoyed the wild sight of the dancing conductor, the athletic jumping and hopping of the drummers, and the unusual choice of instruments, which included saxophones, guitars, banjos, and mandolins – instruments that were not employed in traditional orchestras. This was a most effective way to bring the syncopated music and the African-American artists into the limelight, and indeed, many songs written by African Americans sold extremely well: That's Why They Call me Shine (1910), by Ford Dabney, who also led an orchestra, Castle Walk (1914), by Vernon and Irene Castle), Walkin' The Dog (1916) and Darktown Strutters Ball (1917), by Shelton Brooks, After You've Gone (1918), Strut Miss Lizzie (1921) and Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (1922), by John Turner Layton, among others.
Photos
from L to R: 1-Bob Cole and J. Rosamond Johnson. Cole was
born in Athens, Georgia, on July 1, 1868. His earliest published songs
were issued in 1893, and one of his earliest stage jobs was with Sam T.
Jack's Creole Show,
the first African-American show to break from the strict minstrel tradition of
all male performers. Cole also performed as an actor and directed
the All Star Stock Company at Worth's Museum in New York, the first
such company organized by African-Americans. 2-Tom Turpin, publisher of
“Harlem Rag”, a big hit of the era. Continues
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