Noble Sissle

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Noble Sissle · Noble Lee Sissle was born on 10 July 1889 in Indianapolis and died on 17 December 1975. He was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer and playwright. As a boy he sang in church choirs and as a soloist in the glee club of his high school in Cleveland. He then studied on a scholarship at DePauw University and Butler University, before devoting himself entirely to music. In early 1916 he joined one of James Reese Europe's society orchestras in New York and brought in his friend, the pianist and composer Eubie Blake.

Music and breakthrough

In the First World War Sissle was a sergeant and singer in the regimental band that later became the 369th Infantry Hell Fighters, with Europe as lieutenant. Unlike most military bands, this orchestra played syncopated music, and it is regarded as the group that introduced jazz to France. On 9 May 1919 Europe was murdered, and Sissle, with Blake's help, temporarily took over the leadership. After the war he formed a vaudeville duo with Blake, The Dixie Duo. Together they wrote the revue Shuffle Along, which in 1921 became the first hit musical on Broadway written by and about African Americans, with the young Josephine Baker in the cast. It featured songs such as I'm Just Wild About Harry and Love Will Find a Way.

Influence

Later Sissle performed in London, accompanied Adelaide Hall on piano and in 1954 became a disc jockey at the radio station WMGM. Sissle shows how African American musicians won a place of their own in the theatre and in early jazz.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 2016Sing Shuffle Along

In School of Rock

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• After Hours: Session 1^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• Harlem Renaissance GenreThe musical Shuffle Along by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake was a success on Broadway in 1921, with an all-Black cast.

See also

• Harlem Renaissance