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258 lost sounds ored women in the country [with] a wide reputation as a contralto singer and pianist .”12 Interestingly, none of the obituaries mentioned her husband; condolences were received by her companion, Minnie Brown. Interment was at Tapley’s summer home at Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York. Had it not been for her single venture into the recording studio in 1910, Daisy Tapley’s voice would have been stilled forever. As it is, we have that piece of audio to remind us of a woman who contributed much to the advancement of black concert music. 18 Apollo Jubilee Quartette There is little we can do other than speculate about the identity of the mystery group called the Apollo Jubilee Quartette. Columbia released a single disc by the quartet, in August 1912, but said little about them. It is no mystery, though, why Columbia wanted some jubilee selections in its catalog. In February 1910 Victor had announced the first recordings of spirituals by the famed Fisk Jubilee Singers. These represented a major innovation for the record industry, presenting to the public a type of music not previously widely available on record. They were bestsellers. In May 1912 Edison got into the act, releasing several cylinders by the Fisks. With spirituals by the Fisks on both Victor and Edison, Columbia felt it had to be represented in this field. No other organization of the Fisks’ caliber was immediately available, so somehow Columbia came up with a previously unknown group called the Apollo Jubilee Quartette. They recorded four traditional spirituals in New York City on February 26 and 27, 1912. According to company files two titles (“Little David” and “Camp Meeting”) were rejected by the music committee. The other two, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Shout All Over God’s Heaven,” were released in August with little fanfare and a catalog description that spoke mostly of the music and said nothing about the singers. “A novelty that cannot fail to attract attention. The peculiar rhythms and harmonies of the genuine old time jubilee singing are unmistakable, defying imitation. Above all things this class of song stands alone as an expression of the Afro-American temperament, its curious vociferation and reiteration being practically unique with musical expression of this particular type. Of the abilities of the Apollo Quartette of jubilee singers our records leave no question.”1 The disc remained in the Columbia catalog only until 1915, when Columbia secured the services of the real Fisk Jubilee Singers. The Fisks immediately recorded the same two titles as their first release for Columbia, and the Apollos disappeared, never to be heard from again. Despite the short shrift they were given, based on their two issued sides the Apollo Quartette was a very competent group, giving creditable and practiced renditions of the two standards. Both were sung with feeling, in tight performances reminiscent of the Fisks. In fact the two issued titles use arrangements virtually identical to those of the Fisk Jubilee Quartet and are particularly close in sound to the Fisks’ Edison cylinders. This was no doubt intentional. 04.235-334_Broo 12/17/03, 1:46 PM 258 259 Who were they? Apollo is, of course, the Greek god of music and poetry, and the name was used widely for musical clubs and performing ensembles across the country . In fact there was an Apollo (Male) Quartet on Victor at the time. However, its single selection, released in June 1911, was the old minstrel tune “When the Corn Is Waving, Annie Dear,” making it unlikely that this was the same as the Columbia jubilee group.2 The “Apollo” name was used on records for a number of other groups that were presumably or definitely white, including the Apollo Quartet (Berliner, 1898), the Apollo Quartet of Boston (Edison, 1916 on), the Apollo Trio (Columbia ethnic, 1923), and the Apollo Male Trio and Quartet (Perfect, 1920s). Of course we cannot even be positive that Columbia’s Apollo Jubilee Quartette was black. However, the repertoire, the performance style, and even the vague catalog copy strongly suggest that they are. They are a close, and no doubt intentional, copy of the Fisks. The most intriguing possibility is that they were in fact related to the Fisk Quartet, which was in New York recording at almost exactly the same time. The latter made their Edison cylinder recordings in December 1911 and were back in the New York area making addition disc tests for Edison in February 1912. A...

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