J. Rosamond Johnson and Singer Taylor Gordon

J. Rosamond Johnson and Singer Taylor Gordon

John Rosamond Johnson (August 11, 1873 - November 11, 1954) was an Bahamian-American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. He was trained at the New England Conservatory and studied in London. After moving to NYC, he began his show business career along with his brother, James Weldon Johnson, and Bob Cole. He is most notable as the composer of the hymn "Lift Every Voice and Sing" which has come to be known in the US as the "Black National Anthem". With his own ensembles, The Harlem Rounders and The Inimitable Five, he toured, and performed in Negro spiritual concerts with Emmanuel Taylor Gordon. During the 1930s, he sang the role of Frazier in the original production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, taking roles in other dramas as well. He died in 1954 at the age of 81. Emmanuel Taylor Gordon (April 29, 1893 - May 5, 1971) was a singer and vaudeville performer associated with the Harlem Renaissance. His career faded after the 1920s, and in 1959 he retired to White Sulphur Springs, where he died in 1971. In addition to his singing career, Gordon is remembered today for his 1929 autobiography, Born to Be, which recounts his youth as an African-American in small town Montana, and his experiences in 1920s Harlem.

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

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3330 x 2766 px | 26.4 MB

28.2 x 23.4 cm | 11.1 x 9.2 in (300 dpi)