Eubie Blake

Eubie Blake was born James Hubert Blake in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 7. He died later on February 12, 1983, having become one of the most important figures in early 20th-century African American music and a major contributor to ragtime and early jazz music and culture.

Blake began his musical journey at age four playing a pump organ. At fifteen, he became a professional musician playing ragtime songs in a brothel. In 1905, he moved to New York City, where he asked Will Cook to assist him in promoting his first song, “Sounds of Africa.” When a buyer offered $100, Blake was elevated to the status of a professional songwriter. Although negotiations between Blake and the buyer ended without a sale, the song was later renamed ‘The Charleston Rag.”

Blake returned to Baltimore where he performed with C. Luckeyeth Roberts and James Johnson. In 1910, he married Avis Lee, a classical pianist. Four years later he published his first song, “Chevy Chase.” In 1915, he met his longtime song writing partner, Noble Sissle, with whom he wrote a hit song for singer Sophie Tucker, “It’s All Your Fault.”