by Donald Bogle
105 “Every top act in”: White, “Ethel Waters Remembered,” Amsterdam News, November 19, 1977, 16.
106 “That’s when the Plantation”: Marshall Stearns and Jean Stearns, Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance (New York: Schirmer Books, 1979), 142.
107 “for Ethel to go”: Earl Dancer, “Flo Ziegfeld Sees, Is Conquered by Ethel; Earl Arrives as Star Maker,” Amsterdam News, March 18, 1950, CF.
108 “Will Marion could take”: Baker and Chase, Josephine: The Hungry Heart, 83.
109 “I was still in”: Baker and Bouillon, Josephine, 36.
110 “Lew Leslie had the”: Baker and Chase, Josephine: The Hungry Heart, 82.
111 “The performers were white”: Baker and Bouillon, Josephine, 36.
112 “I wasn’t going to”: Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, Jazz: A History of America’s Music (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000), 109.
113 “She is a natural”: Carl Van Vechten, “Negro Blues Singers,” Vanity Fair, March 1926, 108.
114 “It was in this”: Dancer, “Flo Ziegfeld Sees, Is Conquered by Ethel; Earl Arrives as Star Maker,” Amsterdam News, March 18, 1950, np.
115 “Ethel arrived at the”: Baker and Bouillon, Josephine, 40.
116 “When I returned to”: Ibid.
117 “The next evening I”: Ibid.
118 “Your success cured her”: Ibid.
119 “I preferred to see”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 186.
120 “the highest figures ever”: “Long Time Contract for ‘Blues’ Singer,” Pittsburgh Courier, May 23, 1925, 10.
121 “went to hear her at every”: Leonard Feather, “More Than Blues: Remembering Ethel Waters,” Los Angeles Times, September 3, 1977, B9.
122 “the source of her genius”: Sally Placksin, American Women in Jazz: 1900 to the Present: Their Words, Lives, and Music (New York: Wideview Books, 1982), 24.
123 “The subtlety of her”: Gary Giddins, “Ethel Waters: Mother of Us All,” Village Voice, October 10, 1977, 63.
124 “Will her individual approach”: Placksin, American Women in Jazz: 1900 to the Present—Their Words, Lives, and Music.
125 “first five releases”: Frank Driggs, liner notes, Ethel Waters’ Greatest Years, Columbia Records, 1972.
126 “All you had to”: David Levering Lewis, When Harlem Was in Vogue (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981), 127.
127 “When the Frigidaire needs”: Etta Moten, “ ‘Trust in God’ Is Secret of Ethel Waters’ Stage Success,” Washington Tribune, August 11, 1936, CF.
128 “flippantly fastidious and a”: Ann Douglas, Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1982), 288.
129 “Chief Long Lance”: Langston Hughes, The Big Sea (New York: Hill and Wang, 1940), 253.
130 “Miss Smith, you’re not”: Chris Albertson, Bessie (New York: Stein and Day, 1974), 143.
131 “A blow in the”: Anderson, This Was Harlem, 219.
132 “I’d heard of his”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 194.
133 “White people generally bored”: Ibid.
134 “When Mr. Van Vechten”: Johnson, Black Manhattan, 226.
135 “red and gold Oriental”: Kellner, Carl Van Vechten and the Irreverent Decades (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968), 285.
136 “thrived on his own”: Anderson, This Was Harlem, 214.
137 “Occasionally, she came to”: Bruce Kellner, Keep A Inchin’ (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979), 167.
138 “When I got there”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 195.
139 “I don’t eat caviar”: “Ethel Turns ‘Philosopher,’ ” Pittsburgh Courier, February 25, 1928, 3.
140 “I’ve seen a lot”: Emily Bernard, ed., Remember Me to Harlem: The Letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001), 56.
141 “Her innate shyness and”: Dismond, “Through the Lorgnette of Geraldyn Dismond,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 17, 1927, np.
142 “At any rate, it”: Kellner, Keep A Inchin’, 167
143 “She came to me”: Zora Neale Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road (Philadelphia: J. Lippincott, 1942), 197.
144 “one of the strangest”: Ibid., 199.
145 “I broke down part”: Kellner, Keep A Inchin’, 167.
146 “Ethel, you never ask”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 198.
147 “for admission to the”: “Ethel Waters’ ‘New Vanities’ and Latest Affair of the Heart Keeping Her Before Public Spotlight,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 20, 1926, 1.
148 “the main floor—and”: “President of T.O.B.A. Jim Crows Patrons in Nashville Theatre,” Pittsburgh Courier, May 8, 1926, 10.
149 “This class of performance”: Pittsburgh Courier, January 1, 1927, np.
150 “Miss Waters created a furor”: Pittsburgh Courier, January 8, 1927, np.
151 “In consequence of the”: Pittsburgh Courier, January 15, 1927, np.
152 “While there was more”: Ibid.
153 “probably deluding themselves”: “Criticizes Stage Star, Attacked,” Pittsburgh Courier, February 12, 1927.
154 “were hurled from the”: Ibid.
155 “Negroes should look to”: Allen Woll, Black Musical Theatre: From Coontown to Dreamgirls (New York: Da Capo Press, 1991), 6.
156 “had thrown all these”: Johnson, Black Manhattan, 173
157 “In the ‘Broadway’ houses”: Johnson, Along the Way, 202.
158 “combined noble sentiments with”: Lewis, When Harlem Was in Vogue, 99.
159 “You know, I don’t”: Bide Dudley, “Africana,” New York Daily Mail, July 2, 1927, np.
160 “gave a generous series”: Ibee, “Prancin,’ ” July 12, 1927, CF.
161 “Each time she answered”: W. Rollo Wilson, “Africana,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 17, 1927, 2.
162 “It has no music”: Ibee, “Prancin’,” July 12, 1927, CF.
163 “Strange the colored folk”: Burns Mantle review of Africana in New York Daily News. Reprinted: “Africana and the Midnight Matinees,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 3, 1927, 3.
164 “while Edith is around”: H. B., “Edith Waters, a Harlem Favorite, Saves the Show in ‘Africana,’ ” New York World, July 12, 1927, np.
165 “by the presence of”: Ibee, “Prancin,’ ” July 12, 1927, CF.
166 “For the most part”: E.B.W. [E. B. White], “Texas White Magic—The Forces of Darkness,” The New Yorker, July 23, 1927, 36.
167 “traditional pattern of Negro”: Johnson, Black Manhattan, 210.
168 “They do say that”: Wilson, “Africana,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 17, 1927, 2.
169 “pure African, made entirely”: “Ethel Waters Coming to Nixon Theater Next Week,” Pittsburgh Courier, January 21, 1928, 2.
170 “a pioneer in a new”: Pittsburgh Courier, CF.
171 “When any of our”: “ ‘Africana’ Endorsed by N.Y. Preachers,” Pittsburgh Courier, August 24, 1927, 2.
172 “is one of the”: Floyd Calvin, “Prominent New Yorkers Congratulate Ethel Waters on ‘Africana’ Success,” Pittsburgh Courier, July 30, 1927, np.
173 “Ethel Waters’ Africana is”: Bernard, ed., Remember Me to Harlem, 56.
174 “possess one of the”: Viola Woodlyn James, “New York Society,” Pittsburgh Courier, August 20, 1927, 7.
175 “Ethel Waters, now starring”: Pittsburgh Courier, August 27, 1927, CF.
176 “Through my friend Carl”: Dancer, “Flo Ziegfeld Sees, Is Conquered by Ethel; Earl Arrives as Star Maker,” Amsterdam News, March 18, 1950, CF.
177 “is considered a great”: Chappy Gardner, “Along the Rialto,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 1, 1927, 3.
178 “Ethel was shoved all”: Dancer, “Flo Ziegfeld Sees, Is Conquered by Ethel; Earl Arrives as Star Maker,” Amsterdam News, March 18, 1950, np.
179 “As is usual in”: Gardner, “Along the Rialto,” Pittsburgh
Courier, October 1, 1927, 3.
180 “On opening performance”: Dancer, “Flo Ziegfeld Sees, Is Conquered by Ethel; Earl Arrives as Star Maker,” Amsterdam News, March 18, 1950, CF.
181 “Probably honors went, by”: “Variety of Singers Entertain at Palace,” New York Times, September 20, 1927, 33.
182 “Ethel Waters at the”: “White Star Quits,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 11, 1927, 3.
183 “He had blackbirds flown”: Author interview with Maude Russell for the PBS/German Educational Television documentary series Brown Sugar: Eighty Years of America’s Black Female Superstars.
184 “The white newspapers played”: “Bitterness May Follow Florence Mills Funeral,” Pittsburgh Courier, November 19, 1927, 1.
185 “the most dynamic colored”: “Theatrical Critics Throughout Country Sing Praise of Ethel Waters in Her Big Revue, ‘Africana,’ ” Pittsburgh Courier, January 28, 1929, 2.
186 “a revolver looking for”: Bernard, Remember Me to Harlem, 56.
187 “Everything appeared to be”: “ ‘Africana’ Will Not Be Able to Show in London—Dancer,” Pittsburgh Courier, January 21, 1928, Second Section, 2.
188 “At the close of”: Gardner, “Along the Rialto,” Pittsburgh Courier, July 14, 1928, 2.
189 “We didn’t get paid!”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 193.
190 “Get Up off Your Knees”: Pittsburgh Courier, January 8, 1928, Illustrated Features Section, 3.
191 “Organ Grinder Blues”: Pittsburgh Courier, November 17, 1928, Illustrated Features Section, 5.
192 “secreting mortgaged property”: “Two Stage Celebrities Come Without Range of Long Arms of John Law,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 15, 1928, Second Section, 1.
193 “Miss Waters Owes $50,000”: “Ethel Waters of ‘Africana’ Files Petition for Bankruptcy,” Amsterdam News, September 26, 1928, 7.
194 “I thought that being”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 201.
195 “I was bitter with”: Ibid., 202.
196 “exclusive of my pay”: Ibid., 197.
197 “la grippe and acute”: “ ‘Deep Harlem’ Producer, Ill,” Pittsburgh Courier, December 1, 1928, 8.
198 “for eight years before”: Ethel Waters, “The Men in My Life,” Ebony, 1952, 34.
199 “I wanted Robeson for”: Author interview with King Vidor.
200 “The talent man Vidor”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 198.
201 “Crowds from all over”: “Ethel Waters in Golden West,” Pittsburgh Courier, February 16, 1929, Third Section, 1.
202 “I just match the”: Fred W. Cousins, “Songs of Own Dire Need Bring Ethel Riches, Joy,” Detroit News, October 9, 1936, np.
203 “You drive a pretty”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 199.
204 “To the best of”: “Who’s Ethel Waters’ Newest Husband,” Baltimore Afro- American, August 10, 1929, np.
205 “Hits Boulevards of Gay”: Chicago Defender, August 17, 1929, np.
206 In New York, her physician: The specialist is identified as Dr. M. Wicant in Baltimore Afro-American, November 30, 1929. In His Eye Is on the Sparrow, the physician is identified as Dr. Weisant.
207 “None of you spoke”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 207.
208 “several of Europe’s leading”: J. A. Rogers, “Ethel Waters Still London Sensation,” Baltimore Afro-American, December 28, 1929, CF.
209 “She was the talk”: Bricktop with James Haskins, Bricktop (New York: Atheneum, 1983), 183.
210 “I never birthed no”: Ethel Waters, To Me It’s Wonderful (New York: Harper and Row, 1972), 25.
211 “at this present age”: Ethel Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book Manuscript Library, Yale University.
212 “Ethel Waters as Bernice”: Mordaunt Hall, “ ‘Broadway’ as a Film,” New York Times, June 2, 1929, CF.
213 “The stage portion is mostly”: Variety, June 5, 1929, CF.
214 “For anyone who wants”: Pauline Kael, “On with the Show,” 5001 Nights at the Movies (New York: Henry Holt, 1991), 547.
215 “to select”: “British May Censor Ethel Waters’ Songs,” Chicago Defender, November 2, 1929, np.
216 “Ethel Waters continues to”: J. A. Rogers, “Ethel Waters Still London Sensation,” Baltimore Afro-American, December 28, 1929, CF.
217 “Dressed in the latest”: “Lew Leslie Will Open Sept. 1,” Pittsburgh Courier, August 30, 1930, A6.
218 “Sure enough”: Barry Singer, Black and Blue: The Life and Lyrics of Andy Razaf (New York: Schirmer Books, 1992), 247.
219 “blacking brown faces”: Brooks Atkinson, “The Play,” New York Times, October 23, 1930, 40.
220 “Our show was a”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 215.
221 “There is no doubt”: Chappy Gardner, “Lew Leslie’s ‘Blackbirds’ Close on Broadway,” Pittsburgh Courier, December 13, 1930, A8.
222 “Knowing the Negro as”: Floyd G. Snelson Jr., “Leslie’s ‘Rhapsody in Black’ Sounds a New Note in Theatricals,” Pittsburgh Courier, May 9, 1931, 8A.
223 “It was something quite”: George B. Murphy Jr., “Ethel Waters Wants to Play Scarlet Sister,” Baltimore Afro-American, 1931, CF.
224 “It lacks the punch”: John Mason Brown, “The Play,” Evening Post, May 5, 1931, 12.
225 “It is Harlem oratorio”: Gilbert W. Gabriel, “Rhapsody in Black,” The American, May 5, 1931, np.
226 “After complaining so often”: “New Yorker Praises Leslie for Giving Race Actors Something ‘Worthy of Their Talent,’ ” Pittsburgh Courier, June 6, 1931, B7.
227 “a new step forward”: Snelson Jr., “Leslie’s ‘Rhapsody in Black’ Sounds a New Note in Theatricals,” Pittsburgh Courier, May 9, 1931, 8A.
228 “This lady’s personality has”: “New Yorker Praises Leslie for Giving Race Actors Something ‘Worthy of Their Talent,’ ” Pittsburgh Courier, June 6, 1931, B7.
229 “Mr. Leslie has tried”: Walter Winchell, “ ’Rhapsody in Black’ Opens: Departure in Sepia Shows,” New York Mirror, May 5, 1931, CF.
230 “What did this man”: Ben Washer, “Ethel Waters Likes Changes of Songs in Lew Leslie’s Show ‘Rhapsody in Black,’ ” New York World-Telegram, Reprinted in Chicago Defender, May 23, 1931, 5.
231 “filing her nails”: Murphy Jr., “Ethel Waters Wants to Play ‘Scarlet Sister,’ ” Baltimore Afro-American, 1931, CF.
232 “It tears my heart”: Julia McCarthy, “Star by Meditation, says Ethel Waters,” New York Daily News, January 17, 1939, CF.
