Lester A. Walton in Lafayette Theatre, Harlem - 18 March, 1915

from Ragged but right / Lynn Abbott, pages 20-1:

So after nearly sixteen years showing white people how colored people sing this variety artist was given an opportunity Monday afternoon to let the colored folk see how they chirped "coon songs" and those of the ragtime brand. But the efforts of the lady fair under a coat of tan was [sic] not convincing, and some of the disorderly patrons in the audience showed their disapproval by hissing. It was obvious that many promptly realized in the beginning that they were not listening to the real thing... 

cite as

Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff (ed.), Ragged but right / Lynn Abbott (Jackson, 2007), p. 20-1. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1447090924950 accessed: 4 October, 2024

location of experience: Lafayette Theatre, Harlem

Listeners

Listening to

hide composers
coon songs

Experience Information

Date/Time 18 March, 1915
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Notes

Observation on response of the crowd to an unconvincing performance.


Originally submitted by acusworth on Mon, 09 Nov 2015 17:42:05 +0000
Approved on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 15:14:19 +0000