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Eubie Blake was born in Baltimore, Maryland on February 7th 1887. He was about 20 years younger than Scott Joplin and became a ragtime piano player in Baltimore’s at the age of 15 - in 1902. It would be fair to say, I think, that Blake was a contemporary of Scott Joplin. What’s amazing about that statement is that this video was recorded in 1979, when Eubie Blake was 92 years old. Eubie Blke’s career spanned the time from Scott Joplin to Bono. I remember seeing the coverage of Eubie Blake’s 100th birthday, and of his death four days later, on Baltimore television, in 1983.

Wikipedia has this to say about the discrepancy in his reported age:

In later years Blake listed his birth year as “1883″ and his 100th birthday was celebrated in 1983. Most sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica,[3] and a U.S. Library of Congress biography,[4] incorrectly list his birth year as “1883″. Every official document issued by the government, however, records his birthday as “February 7, 1887″. This includes the 1900 Census, his 1917 World War I draft registration, 1920 passport application, 1936 Social Security application, and death records as reported by the United States Social Security Administration.[5] Peter Hanley writes: “In the final analysis, however, the fact that he was only ninety-six years of age and not one hundred when he died does not in any way detract from his extraordinary achievements. Eubie will always remain among the finest popular composers and songwriters of his era.”

Blake plays a medley from the Broadway musical that he wrote in 1921 with Noble Sissle, his long time collaborator. The show was a hit and helped to make the career of a fellow you may have heard of, named Paul Robeson.

As a special treat, here is a clip made from an experimental sound film process in 1923. Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle the “Dixie Duo” performing “Affectionate Dan.” This is one of the earliest attempt at making talking pictures.

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