Harry Douglas and the Deep River Boys, students of Hampton Institute, signed with Bluebird Records in 1940. Their first record was “Nothing But You.” By the next year they had recorded seven records, including, “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” with Fats Waller.
They once toured with Richmond, Virginia native, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and even performed on TV as far back as 1940. Later they appeared on the Kate Smith Show, and The Milton Berle Show. They had a Pop hit in 1948, “Recess in Heaven.”
We've only just begun - much more to come.
Our Legends in Movies
Ella Fitzgerald
Gary US Bonds
Pearl Bailey
When radio station WRAP hosted the Hampton Roads Music Awards at the Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Virginia, one of the memorable highlights was a spontaneous rendition of Ruth Brown performing, "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean."
The song performed here in this episode of Sanford & Son was written by Newport News' own singer/songwriter, Jean Lang.
Did you know--Country music singer, William Kenneth Alphin aka "Big Kenny" of Big & Rich fame was born in Culpeper, Virginia.
Richmond, VA born, Seattle Seahawks quarterback sensation, Russell Wilson, is the grandson of Harrison B. Wilson Jr., former president of Norfolk State University.
Did you know...
...six-time Academy Award nominee, three Tonys, three Emmys, two Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Obie award winner, Glenn Close, learned her craft at the College of William & Mary, where she was a theater major and elected to membership in the honor society of Phi Beta Kappa.
Virginia's Music Soul
Site Intro
Did you know...
Ben Camey Wallace, whom played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, attended Virginia Union and was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame's 2015.
Remember
"Melody In A Minor" was a composition composed by Charles G. Dawes in 1912, a man who would later go on to become Vice-President of the United States of America under Calvin Coolidge.
In 1951, a lawyer by the name of Carl Sigman (a future Songwriter's Hall of Fame inductee) wrote some words to the melody and a young man from Richmond, Virginia recorded the song. The young man's name was Tommy Edwards and the recording reached #18 on the charts. Several years later, with a different arrangement, the song became a Rock/Pop classic. That song was "It's All in the Game."
Tommy Edwards (February 17, 1922 – October 22, 1969)
Discover Hampton Roads
Portsmouth born Journalist/Novelist Nathan McCall, author of "Makes Me Wanna Holler," "What's Going On," and "Them: A Novel," is a lecturer in the Department of African-American Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
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