Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909[1]) was the first Black American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show, The Oyster Man in 1907, (shows at the African Grove Theatre preceded it by generations) and helped to popularize the musical genre of ragtime.[2]
A native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, as a teenager Hogan worked in traveling minstrel shows as a dancer, musician, and comedian. In 1895 Hogan composed several popular songs, including "La Pas Ma La" and "All Coons Look Alike to Me". The success of the latter song created many derogatory imitations, known as "coon songs" because of their use of racist and stereotypical images of black people. Hogan also wrote "The Phrenologist Coon" in 1901.
Hogan was considered one of the most talented performers and comedians of his day.[3]
- ^ "Ernest Hogan Dead". Billboard, May 29, 1909.
- ^ Lynn Abbott & Doug Seroff, Ragged but Right: Black Traveling Shows, 'Coon Songs,' and the Dark Pathway to Blues and Jazz (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2008), passim, ISBN 1-57806-901-7.
- ^ Tap Roots: The Early History of Tap Dancing by Mark Knowles, McFarland & Company, 2002, ISBN 0-7864-1267-4, pages 119-20.