James A. Bland
Musician · 1854–1911 · Flushing, New York
Best known for
Songwriter
James A. Bland was a Flushing, New York-born African-American minstrel-show composer who wrote “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” (1878), “In the Evening by the Moonlight,” and “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers” — songs that became cornerstones of nineteenth-century American popular music and entered the country and bluegrass repertoires through later recordings.
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- Born October 22, 1854, in Flushing, New York, one of eight children of Allen Bland, one of the first African-American college graduates (Wilberforce University).
- Bought his first banjo at fourteen with money from his father.
- Attended Howard University but was forced to leave in 1873 because of his involvement in theatrical shows.
- Wrote “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” around 1878; the song was adopted as the official state song of Virginia in 1940.
- Wrote “In the Morning by the Bright Light,” “In the Evening by the Moonlight,” and “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers” in 1879.
- Toured Europe from 1881 with Haverly’s Genuine Colored Minstrels; gave command performances for Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales.
- Wrote roughly 700 published songs across his career.
- Died of tuberculosis in Philadelphia on May 5, 1911; was buried in an unmarked grave at Merion Memorial Park; ASCAP located the grave in 1939 and erected a monument.
- Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
