Jules Bledsoe

Julus Bledsoe Julius Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe Waco Texas December 29 1898 - July 14 1943 Hollywood California Was An American Opera Singer. At Five Years Old He Gave His First Public Vocal Performance. Bledsoe Originally Wanted To Pursue A Medical Career But Instead Began Studying Music Under Luigi Parisotti. After Years Of Musical Study Including Degrees From Bishop College In Marshall Texas Virginia Union University In Richmond Virginia Columbia University In New York City And Time In Paris France Bledsoe Made His Concert Debut In New York City At Twenty-Three Years Old. Bledsoe Adopted The Stage Name “Jules Bledsoe” Early In His Career And Was Commonly Called By That Name For The Rest Of His Life. His Long Literary Career Included Composing And Performing Music Acting In Plays And Operas And Writing Poems. Bledsoe’s Work Took Him Around The World With Performances In France United Kingdom Norway Italy And Back To New York City In Vaudeville Radio And Television. Bledsoe Played In Many Productions Including “Showboat ” “Aida ” “Emperor Jones ” “Deep River ” “Abraham’s Bosom ” And Others. His Signature Song Was Considered To Be “Old Man River ” Which He Sang In Most Concerts He Gave. Bledsoe Also Wrote And Performed His Own Songs And Operas Which Included Folk Songs Spirituals Patriotic Songs And Operas. Jules Bledsoe’s Contributions To His Art Went Beyond His Musical Skill. He Was The First African-American To Perform With A United States Opera Company In America In Addition To Performing In Operas Around The World. Bledsoe Was Also Known As A Multilingual Singer Proficient In English Italian French German And Yiddish By 1936. Jules Bledsoe Also Owned A Resort In New York’s Catskill Mountains Open Only To African-Americans. Called “Jessie’s Manna Farms ” It Is Unknown How Much Profit He Made From This Side Business. During World War II Jules Bledsoe Assisted In The War Effort By Giving A War Bonds Tour Around The United States. During One Stop In Waco Texas His Performance Was So Well Received By The 2 500 People In Attendance That He Gave Multiple Encores For More Than An Hour After His Show Ended. Jules Bledsoe Died On July 14 1943 In Hollywood California From A Cerebral Hemorrhage. Noted Baylor University Scholar And Head Of The English Department Dr. J.A. Armstrong Spoke At His Funeral. Jules Bledsoe Is Buried In Greenwood Cemetery Waco Texas. Julius Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe 1897–1943 Was A Once Renowned But Now Semi-Forgotten Baritone And The First African-American Artist To Gain Regular Employment On Broadway Subsequent To Bert Williams William Grant Still Ford Dabney And Others. Jules Bledsoe Was Born In Waco Texas In 1897. After Graduating From Bishop College He Studied At Virginia Union College And Columbia University. He Debuted In New York's Aeolian Hall In 1924 Which Resulted In His Obtaining Management From Impresario Sol Hurok.
Bledsoe Performed In Frank Harling's Opera Deep River In 1926 And He Created The Role Of Joe In Jerome Kern And Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat In 1927 After Paul Robeson Was Unable To Appear In It Because Of Scheduling Conflicts. Robeson First Played The Role Five Months After The Broadway Opening In The 1928 London Production. He Eventually Eclipsed Bledsoe In The Role And Became World-Famous For His Rendition Of Ol' Man River. Robeson Also Played Joe In The 1932 Broadway Production In The 1936 Film Version And A 1940 Los Angeles Stage Production And He Made Many Recordings Of Ol' Man River As Opposed To Bledsoe Who Made Only One. Between 1929 And 1930 Bledsoe Appeared In Three Musical Film Shorts - Old Man Trouble On The Levee And Dear Old Southland.
In Verdi's Opera With The Chicago Opera Aida Bledsoe Sang The Role Of Amonasro. In 1930 Bledsoe Attempted To Create An Original Musical Setting Of Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones But He Lacked The Permission Of The Playwright Which Was Already Secured By Composer Louis Gruenberg. Though The Honor Went To Lawrence Tibbett To Create The Title Role On Stage On January 7 1933 In A Celebrated Production Of The New York Metropolitan Opera Bledsoe Played The Character In A Production In Amsterdam In 1934 And Later In Paris Vienna Brussels And London And Still Later In New York. With A Voice Of Relatively Limited Scope Bledsoe Also Performed The Title Character In Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.
Bledsoe Toured The Concert Circuit And Was A Member Of The Roxy Theatre's Music Staff As A Part Of Roxy's Gang. The 1935 BBC Program Songs Of The Negro Was Compiled By Bledsoe Who Then Sang In Blackbirds Of 1936 A London Production.
Bledsoe's Only Recording Of Ol' Man River Which He Sang In The Original Production Of Show Boat Is Occasionally Played On The NPR Musical Theatre Program A Night On The Town. His Rendition Of The Song Especially In Comparison To Those Made Famous By Paul Robeson William Warfield In The 1951 Film Version Bruce Hubbard On The 1988 Three-Disc EMI Album And Michel Bell In The Harold Prince Revival Of The Show Is Somewhat Exaggeratedly Melodramatic In The Manner Of Early Twentieth-Century Acting And Bledsoe Rolls All Of His "r"'s As A Baritone Might When Singing His Solos In An Oratorio. A Recently Released Album Of Vintage Spiritual Recordings Features Bledsoe Singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot In That Same Exaggeratedly Melodramatic Style Which Demonstrates That It Was Not Unique To His Performance Of Ol' Man River. Bledsoe Was Also Actually Filmed Singing The Song - His Rendition Of It Was Included In The Sound Prologue To The Part-Talkie Show Boat 1929 Film Version .
In November 1933 Billie Holiday Made Her First Record As Vocalist For Benny Goodman's Studio Orchestra Doing A Fairly Popular Song "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" Written By Nichols And Holiner For Lew Leslie's Blackbirds Of 1934. In The Song There Is A Reference To Bledsoe - "You Don't Have To Sing Like Bledsoe. You Can Tell The World I Said So."
Bledsoe Died In Hollywood California On July 14 1943. His Papers Including Sheet Music Photographs And Recordings Are Housed In The Texas Collection At Baylor University. read less