WHITE KID SLIPPERS (1883) 🎹🎶 Sam Lucas & Geo. Russell Jackson

I consider these musical efforts to have significant historical importance. Reviving these "lost" songs is a vital way to preserve our cultural heritage. Support my work by purchasing this music! This link contains audio/video/sheet music:

- All I Knew

The chord on "w'ar" (0:54 in video) is so remarkable it really shouldn't exist in *1883*. After studying thousands of songs from this era, this "proto-jazz" chord is practically unique. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this makes Sam Lucas one of the progenitors of jazz.

This song has a Black composer and a White lyricist, indicative of how this music crossed racial boundaries. There are layers to the satire...the White lyricist is parodying Black language, and the Black composer is parodying White music. It is truly a remarkable historical work.

Sam Lucas (1840-1916) was one of the most accomplished musicians and performers of his time. He wrote some of the best "coon songs" and spirituals of the late 19th century. He became the first Black actor to star in a major movie, 1914's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

This song is actually a parody of a popular minstrel spiritual from 1879 called "Oh dem Golden Slippers". Lucas/Jackson's satirical take four years later is a brilliant early example of how an irreverent parody can have its own significant artistic merit.

Sam Lucas was a great composer of "coon songs", a classic music style that was enormously popular worldwide for almost a century. These songs were written/enjoyed by Whites/Blacks alike. Unfortunately, this era has been memory-holed, along with his legacy.

Scottish-born journalist, lyricist and novelist George Russell Jackson (c 1834-1892) came to the US at an early age. He wrote a novel called "Ambergris Island; Or, the New El Dorado" about a Lost Race on a forgotten island. Here's a link to the full novel:

Dem white folk sure does love dem slippers. Amazing song

It really is something special. I hope people realize how cool it is to hear these songs for the first time in so many years. It's the musical equivalent of unearthing a lost treasure.

Wow, that was pretty great. I appreciate you providing the sheet music. This looks like a high effort/quality composition in its day. And as always, the performance was outstanding!