Detail from sheet music cover of Whitlock's Collection of Ethiopian Melodies, 1846. Whitlock is playing banjo, and his parther is either Frank Lynch or John Diamond.

William M. "Billy" Whitlock (1813—1878) was an American blackface performer. He began his career in entertainment doing blackface banjo routines in circuses and dime shows, and by 1843, he was well known in New York City. He is best known for his role in forming the original minstrel troupe, the Virginia Minstrels. This reproduction of a 1900 minstrel show poster, originally published by the Strobridge Litho Co. ... Old 6-string zither banjo 4-string banjos The banjo is a stringed instrument of African-American origin, early or original examples sometimes being called the gourd banjo. Its name is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza. ... The Big Top of Billy Smarts Circus Cambridge 2004. ... NYC and New York, New York redirect here. ... Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843. ... The Virginia Minstrels was a group of 19th Century American entertainers known for helping to invent the entertainment form known as the Minstrel show. ...

Early career

Whitlock was born in New York City in 1813. He worked as a typesetter for a religious journal, then went to work for the New York Herald. Whitlock claimed to have met America's pre-eminent banjoist, Joel Sweeney, in 1838 and to have taken some banjo lessons from him. He joined P. T. Barnum's circus in 1839, where he began his blackface act. NYC and New York, New York redirect here. ... Movable metal type Typesetting involves the presentation of textual material in an aesthetic form on paper or some other medium. ... The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835 and 1924. ... Old 6-string zither banjo 4-string banjos The banjo is a stringed instrument of African-American origin, early or original examples sometimes being called the gourd banjo. Its name is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza. ... Joel Sweeney Joel Walker Sweeney, also known as Joe Sweeney, was a musician and early blackface minstrel performer. ... Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) Parody of Jenny Linds first American tour for P. T. Barnum, New York City, October 1850. ...

By 1840, Whitlock was performing circuses, museums, and variety shows and had taken the epithet "King of Banjo players, and the Emperor of Extravaganza Singers".^[1] He paired with John Diamond for a time, playing banjo and singing while Diamond danced. Frank Lynch eventually replaced Diamond, though he took "Frank Diamond" as his stage name. Whitlock also partnered with Dan Gardner, who would dress in drag as Whitlock's character "Sambo Squash" made romantic overtures. The Big Top of Billy Smarts Circus Cambridge 2004. ... A museum is typically a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment. ... A variety show is a show with a variety of acts, often including music and comedy skits, especially on television. ... Old 6-string zither banjo 4-string banjos The banjo is a stringed instrument of African-American origin, early or original examples sometimes being called the gourd banjo. Its name is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza. ... A stage name, or a screen name for movie stars, is a pseudonym used by performers and actors. ... Drag in its broadest sense means a costume or outfit that carries symbolic significance, but usually refers to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of the other gender. ...

This playbill, written in the stereotyped African American Vernacular English that characterized blackface entertainment, describes Whitlock's basic act: African American Vernacular English (AAVE), also called Black English, Black Vernacular, or Black English Vernacular (BEV), is a type of lect (dialect , ethnolect and sociolect) of the American English language. ...

Now dat Massa Whitlock plays so partic'lar combustious, and will sing dat 'fecting song of Jinny git your Hoe Cake done! and dat first rate ballad of Jim Along Josey! defying all de niggers in de world to charm de people after dat same manner. Dis very partic'lar nigga will jump, dance, and knock his heels in a way dat Mademoiselle Fanny Elssler neber did, neber can and neber will do.^[2] Fanny Essler (23 June 1810, Vienna-27 November 1884) was an Austrian dancer. ...

Many years later, Whitlock claimed that his Negro impersonations were based on reality. He would "quietly steal off to some negro hut to hear the darkeys sing and see them dance, taking with him a jug of whiskey to make them all the merrier." ^[3]

Virginia Minstrels

In early 1843, Whitlock became one of the founding members of the Virginia Minstrels. Whitlock's version of the group's founding holds that Whitlock asked fiddler Dan Emmett to practice with him. They did so on a few occasions, but during one such session, Frank Brower dropped by unannounced and decided to join in on bones. Richard Pelham soon followed with his tambourine.^[4] The Virginia Minstrels was a group of 19th Century American entertainers known for helping to invent the entertainment form known as the Minstrel show. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a fifth apart. ... Daniel Decatur Dan Emmett (October 29, 1815 – June 28, 1904), was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio. ... The bones are a musical instrument (more specifically, a folk instrument) which, at the simplest, consists of a pair of bones, human or animal, or pieces of wood or a similar material. ... Kocek with tambourine 19th c. ...

The Virginia Minstrels put on a full minstrel show at the New York Bowery Amphitheatre on 6 February 1843. Whitlock was the most famous of the foursome,^[5] but soon all four names became well known as they toured New York and Boston. Whitlock's banjo was long-necked and four-stringed, though a fifth was added by 1844. He played the instrument by striking the strings with his fingernail.^[6] Whitlock also did a "Locomotive Lecture", a predecessor to the stump speech, wherein he feigned a complete lack of knowledge about steam engines and the railroad. Whitlock wrote some music, as well; his "Miss Lucy Long" became a hit for both the Virginia Minstrels and Christy's Minstrels.^[7] Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843. ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Christys Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy in 1843, in Buffalo, New York, USA. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel show into a fixed three-act form. ...

Whitlock and the troupe left for Liverpool, England, on 21 April. They performed several minstrel shows in the British Isles, but they broke up after a performance on 14 July 1843, possibly due to low profits. Whitlock returned to New York City with the group's manager, George Wooldridge. Liverpools skyline, as seen from the River Mersey. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Later career

Back in America, Whitlock returned to his circus blackface act. For a time, he joined T. G. Booth, Cool White, and Barney Williams as a member of the Kentucky Minstrels. Barney Williams (born March 13, 1977) is a Canadian rower. ...

On 28 July 1845, Whitlock joined Emmett, Jerry Bryant, Dan Gardner, and Charles White to form the Operatic Brothers and Sisters. The group put on a week of outdoor performances in Hoboken, New Jersey. On 23 October, he performed at a benefit along with Emmett, Gardner, and other prominent blackface entertainers. His last public blackface performance was at a circus in 1855.^[8] July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Charles White (born January 22, 1958 in Los Angeles) went to San Fernando, CA High School. ... Image of Hoboken taken by NASA (red line shows where Hoboken is). ... October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 69 days remaining. ... For use in social policy, see the article social welfare. ...

Notes

1. ^ 18 July 1840. Announcement from Vauxhall Gardens in the New York Morning Herald. Quoted in Nathan 65.
2. ^ 5 June 1840. Playbill, National Theatre, Boston. Quoted in Nathan 115.
3. ^ 13 April 1878. New York Clipper. Quoted in Emerson 97.
4. ^ 13 April 1878. New York Clipper. Quoted in Nathan 116-7.
5. ^ Nathan 115.
6. ^ Nathan 126.
7. ^ Emerson 94.
8. ^ Stark 20.

July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 13 April is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... 1878 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The New York Clipper, also known as The Clipper, was a weekly entertainment newspaper published in New York City from 1853 to 1924. ... 13 April is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... 1878 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

References

• Crawford, Richard (2001). America's Musical Life: A History. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
• Emerson, Ken (1997). Doo-Dah!: Stephen Foster and the Rise of American Popular Culture. Da Capo Press.
• Nathan, Hans (1962). Dan Emmett and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Stark, Seymour (2001). Men in Blackface: True Stories of the Minstrel Show. Xilibris Corporation.
• Tosches, Nick (2001). Where Dead Voices Gather. Little, Brown and Company.