1933 photograph of J. Rosamond Johnson by Carl Van Vechten

John Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954), most often referred to as J. Rosamond Johnson, was a composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Johnson, from the United States, is most notable as the composer of Lift Every Voice and Sing which has come to be known in the United States as the "Black National Anthem". His brother, poet James Weldon Johnson, wrote the lyrics of the famous piece. 1933 Photo of J. Rosamond Johnson by Carl Van Vechten http://memory. ... 1933 Photo of J. Rosamond Johnson by Carl Van Vechten http://memory. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Photographic self-portrait by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 Carl Van Vechten (June 17, 1880 – December 21, 1964) was an American writer and photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein. ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of African-American social thought and culture based in the African-American community forming in Harlem in New York City (USA). ... African American flag Lift Evry Voice and Sing — often called the Black National Anthem — was written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and then set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954) in 1899. ... James Weldon Johnson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1932 James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 - June 26, 1938) was a leading African American author, poet, early civil rights activist, and prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. ...

Biography

Johnson was trained at the New England Conservatory and then studied in London. His career began as an interesting public school teacher in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Traveling to New York, he began his show business career along with his brother and Bob Cole. As a songwriting team, they wrote works such as The Evolution of Ragtime (1903). Among the earliest works by the group, this was a suite of six songs of "Negro" music. They produced two successful Broadway operettas with casts of black actors: Shoo-Fly Regiment of 1906 and The Red Moon of 1904. They also created and produced several "white" musicals: Sleeping Beauty and the Beast in 1901, In Newport in 1904, and Humpty Dumpty in 1904. Rosamond would also collaborate to create Hello, Paris with J. Leubrie Hill in 1911. The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) in Boston, Massachusetts is the oldest conservatory in the United States. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... The Jacksonville skyline and the Acosta Bridge. ... Robert Bob Cole (July 11, 1861–August 2, 1911), American composer, actor, playwright, and stage producer and director. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Operetta (literally, little opera) is a performance art-form similar to opera, though it generally deals with less serious topics. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

J. Rosamond Johnson was active in various musical roles during his career. He toured Vaudeville and, after Cole's 1911 death, began a successful tour with Charles Hart and Tom Brown. In London, he wrote music for a theater review from 1912 to 1913 serving a long residency. After returning to the United States, New York's Music School Settlement for Colored—founded by the New York Symphony Orchestra's David Mannes—appointed him as director where he served from 1914 to 1919. With his own ensembles—The Harlem Rounders and The Inimitable Five—he toured as well, and performed in Negro spiritual concerts with Taylor Gordon. The London production of Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1936 engaged Johnson as musical director. During the 1930s, Johnson also sang the Lawyer in the original production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, taking roles in other dramas as well. 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Charles Hart is a British lyricist, songwriter and musician. ... Tom Brown, sometimes known by the nickname Red Brown (June 3, 1888 – March 25, 1958), was an early New Orleans jazz trombonist. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Lew Leslie was a Broadway writer and producer and although white was the first to present black artists on stage. ... George Gershwin photograph by Edward Steichen in 1927. ... The cast of Porgy and Bess during the Boston try-out prior to the Broadway opening. ...

As an editor, he collected four important works. The first two of these song collections he compiled along with his brother James: The Book of American Negro Spirituals (1925) and The Second Book of Negro Spirituals (1926). In addition, Johnson edited Shoutsongs (1936) and the folksong anthology Rolling Along in Song (1937). 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Musical Works

• Shoo-Fly Regiment (1906), Broadway operetta
• The Red Moon (1904), Broadway operetta
• Sleeping Beauty and the Beast (1901), musical
• In Newport (1904), musical
• Humpty Dumpty (1904), musical
• Mr. Lode of Koal (1909), musical
• Come Over Here (1912), musical
• The Maiden with the Dreamy Eyes, song
• Didn't He Ramble, song
• Li'l Gal, song
• Since You Went Away, song
• Lift Every Voice and Sing, song

1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

References

1. Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans: A History. W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edition. ISBN 0393971414

• Yenser, Thomas (editor), Who's Who in Colored America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Persons of African Descent in America, Who's Who in Colored America, Brooklyn, New York, 1930-1931-1932 (Third Edition)