Three Songs by Will Marion Cook

 Will Marion Cook (1869-1944) was a prodigiously talented Black American violinist, conductor, and composer. Born William Mercer Cook in Washington, D.C., he showed musical ability at an early age. A year spent with his maternal grandparents in Chattanooga exposed him to a deeper strain of Southern Black folk music than that which he had heard in Washington; he would later call this his "soul period." He went on to study music at Oberlin, the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik, and with Antonin Dvorak at the National Conservatory of Music in New York.

It soon became apparent, though, that there was little place in the American classical music world for a Black violinist or composer, no matter how talented. Instead, Cook found a home in the musical theater. In 1898 he collaborated with poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar to create the first Broadway show with an all-Black cast, Clorindy, or the Origin of the Cakewalk. Cook went on to write dozens of musicals, including The Southerners, the first production to bring a racially integrated cast to Broadway. 

Cook's music was a product of its time, and some of the themes, lyrics, and titles of his songs are somewhat cringe-worthy when seen through 21st-century eyes. The lyrics (which he generally did not write) reflect the values Black entertainment was expected to exhibit at the time in order to appeal to a White audience. In any case, the historical importance of Cook's work, as well as its musical value, makes it worth preserving.

So here, then, are three contemporary recordings of Will Marion Cook's songs. The first is from 1905 - a song from The Southerners, which was first presented on Broadway the previous year. "It's Allus the Same in Dixie" is sung by Billy Murray and the Haydn Quartet. Murray was one of the most prolific of recording artists for the first twenty years or so of the record business, and the Haydn Quartet wasn't far behind in terms of recorded output. This recording is from a one-sided Victor "Grand Prize" disc, recorded on May 4, 1905. I'll say nothing about the lyrics except that they're by Richard Grant. This song may not be at the level of Cook's best work, but it's certainly interesting to hear this recording, made as it was when the song was still fairly new.

The next record, a two-sided Columbia from 1915, is more well-known, and presents The Right Quintette singing two of Cook's best and most famous creations. The Right Quintette was a popular (and, based on their recordings, very accomplished) Black musical group based in New York. They were a vocal quartet, but generously included their pianist in the count when they decided to name the ensemble. "Rain Song" and "Exhortation" are from Cook's 1908 musical Bandanna Land, and have lyrics by Alex Rogers. Along with "Swing Along," these have endured as Cook's most frequently-performed songs, and it's easy to see why. "Rain Song" and "Exhortation" are complex songs, interestingly constructed while still being catchy and engaging.

Cook's personality and later career are pretty interesting, but this is probably not the place to go into those subjects. I will digress to recommend a 2003 CD by The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Black Manhattan, on the New World label. It includes Cook's "Overture to In Dahomey" and "Swing Along," as well as works by other pioneering Black composers like James Reese Europe, Ford Dabney, and Will Vodery.

Their are other transfers of these records on the web, but I think these, from records in my own collection, are pretty good. Enjoy these historical recordings of three songs by Will Marion Cook.

It's Allus the Same in Dixie - Victor 4434; Billy Murray & Haydn Quartet (May 4, 1905)

Rain Song - Columbia A1987; The Right Quintette (December 24, 1915)

Exhortation - Columbia A1987; The Right Quintette (December 24, 1915)