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151 Thomas Craig 10 Thomas Craig Berliner disc catalogs from 1898 and 1899 list two selections by an obscure artist named Thomas Craig, intriguingly billed as “the colored basso.” No information was provided about him, but like nearly all black artists who recorded during the phonograph’s first decade, he in fact had an active stage career around the turn of the century. Craig was based in New York and appeared primarily in the Northeast. The first season for which he has been traced is 1896–97, when he toured with the Primrose and West Minstrels. After spending the summer of 1897 in New York, he traveled to Boston in August to join Harkins and Barbour’s production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, appearing “with his quartet.”1 (Stagings of the 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe novel were so numerous in the 1890s that theatrical papers referred to them by the initials “U.T.C. companies.”) The play evidently had a short run. Craig appears to have recorded for Berliner in New York during the summer of 1898, judging by known recording dates for surrounding issues.2 This was about the same time that Cousins and DeMoss recorded for the company. The first of his two titles was Stephen Foster’s “Old Black Joe,” an appropriate choice for a basso but hardly distinctive as it was featured by multitudes of artists, black and white. Accompanied by piano, Craig sang in a straightforward style, with no particular mannerisms or even much emotion. Nor was his voice particularly resonant. It is a pedestrian performance, although it may be unfair to judge the artist by this single, rather poorly recorded example. The second title, listed in the catalog as “Good Ole Georgie,” is probably “Good Old Georgia,” a song featured in minstrel shows of the period. No copy has been found. Both discs first appeared in the October 1898 catalog under the heading “Old Plantation Songs.” Craig may have recorded other titles for the label, as nearby catalog numbers are untraced. After depositing his rather thin bass voice on disc for posterity (and for a few dollars), Craig resumed his stage career. During the 1898–99 season he was in the cast of John W. Isham’s The Octoroons, along with comedian Sam Cousins and black singers Belle Davis and Madah Hyers. The Octoroons troupe featured comedy sketches and musical performances, and Craig’s solo numbers were well received. A report of a performance in Canada in February 1899 began, “Mr. Thomas Craig, New York’s favorite basso, is certainly a wonder,” then quoted the Montreal Canada News as saying, “Craig is the possessor of a deep and resonant voice which was heard to good advantage in such selections as ‘Old Black Joe’ and ‘Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep.’” Another item, from March 1899, reported that Craig was receiving applause nightly singing with The Octoroons in upstate New York.3 During the following two seasons Craig traveled with Cole and Johnson’s landmark musical A Trip to Coontown, which was still drawing good audiences in its third and fourth seasons on the road. With him in 1899–1900 were Sam and Myrtle Cous02 .73-152_Broo 12/17/03, 1:45 PM 151 152 lost sounds ins, and former Unique Quartette member Walter Dixon. It is obvious that in the small world of black minstrelsy and vaudeville, many of the artists who recorded knew each other. Craig was frequently praised during his two years with the show— perhaps with some exaggeration—as the “renowned basso” and as having “the greatest voice of its kind extant.” His specialty was said to be old plantation songs.4 The basso spent 1901–2 with the touring company of Williams and Walker’sSons of Ham, starring Avery and Hart. Also in the cast was Sam Cousins. After that, Craig disappeared from sight. Thomas Craig was a journeyman black vaudeville performer whose single surviving recording is rather undistinguished. Perhaps additional recordings, if they could be located, would shed further light on the little-known voice that drew such good reviews. 02.73-152_Broo 12/17/03, 1:45 PM 152 ...

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