Long before the classic funk duo known as The Brothers Johnson blasted Get The Funk Outta Ma Face, the ORIGINAL Brothers Johnson - James Weldon and J. Rosamond Johnson penned Lift Every Voice and Sing, the Negro National Anthem. James Weldon (top, right) wrote the poem in 1900, and his brother J. Rosamond later set it to music in 1905.
At the turn of the 20th Century, the Johnson brothers were two dynamic, outstanding young black men whose boldness and brilliance had no bounds. More than just writers and musicians, they were serious Race and Renaissance Men! James Weldon Johnson's resume listed him as a politician, diplomat, anthologist, civil rights activist and lawyer. His dazzling 1912 novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man helped ignite the African American literary flame that would burn throughout the 1920's. Of the two brothers, James Weldon Johnson is the most well-known. He died in 1938.
*Though supposedly not autobiographical, Johnson is on record as saying the characters in his novel were certainly "based on" people he knew personally. The protagonist's clear ambiguity over his biracial identity & the coded references to his sexuality clearly influenced the upcoming generation of black male Harlem Renaissance writers who'd write about those subjects with slightly greater ease.
J. Rosamond Johnson trained at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music and also studied in London. He worked briefly as a school teacher but never really strayed too far from his musical career. As a pioneer player in early black musical theatre, Johnson attained legendary status on his own as part of the team Cole and Johnson. Bob Cole, with the Brothers Johnson wrote some of the most progressive and popular songs of the early 1900's. J. Rosamond Johnson passed away in 1954.
Now that I've gotten who The Brothers Johnson were out of the way, let me tell you that my sole interest in this blog was to post vintage photos of the very handsome J. Rosamond Johnson. 100 years ago, he would have been my favorite brother and I know I would've had his photos pasted in my Victorian scrapbook. I'm sure he could have made me lift my voice, sing soprano, do the Cakewalk and a few other things as well!
Wow! I've never seen photos of J. Rosamond before and he really was quite the looker. Mostly, I've seen photo's of James Weldon, especially photos by Carl Van Vechten, a man who had the 'fever' real bad!
I live in the same building he lived in on West 135th Street in Harlem and there used to be a framed photo of him in the lobby but some idiot took it down a few years ago.
I think James Weldon will figure prominently in Michael Henry Adams tell all.
Posted by: Greg | July 07, 2011 at 01:00 PM
Ah, Greg! You are certainly keeping me on my toes and I LOVE YOU FOR IT! Yes, I hope Adams is able to tell the story, indeed!
Posted by: Corey | July 07, 2011 at 02:01 PM
ooooh id have had his kids honey.
Posted by: Spellbound By The Fudge | July 08, 2011 at 08:13 PM