Bob Cole (1868-1911)
Last updated: 01.10.24
According to the Internet source given below, Robert Allen Cole was an African American composer, actor, playwright, and stage producer and director born in Athens, Georgia.
Working with Billy Johnson, he wrote and produced A Trip to Coontown (1898), the first musical entirely created and owned by black showmen. Cole later partnered with brothers J. Rosamond Johnson, pianist and singer, and James Weldon Johnson, pianist, guitarist and lawyer, resulting in over 200 songs.
Of ragtime interest is Dar's Ragtime in De Moon (1900).
Cole committed suicide by drowning himself in the Catskills.
Working with Billy Johnson, he wrote and produced A Trip to Coontown (1898), the first musical entirely created and owned by black showmen. Cole later partnered with brothers J. Rosamond Johnson, pianist and singer, and James Weldon Johnson, pianist, guitarist and lawyer, resulting in over 200 songs.
Of ragtime interest is Dar's Ragtime in De Moon (1900).
Cole committed suicide by drowning himself in the Catskills.
| Websites: | |||
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Bob Cole (composer) | Biography by wikipedia.org. |
| Title (Release Year) | Co-Author(s) | Performers | Issue |
|---|
 |
The Wedding of the Chinee and the Coon (1899) | Silas Leachman | Brown wax cylinder. | |
|
Sambo and Dinah (1908) | Grace Nelson F.C. Stanley |
Indestructible Record: 702 | |
|
He Handed Me a Lemon (1907) | R.S. Roberts | Columbia Phonograph Co.: 33077 |
This list is derived from information provided by Monologues.co.uk which went down sometime in 2023.
The loss of this valuable resource is very sad and a mystery.
The loss of this valuable resource is very sad and a mystery.
| Title | Attribution | Remarks |
|---|
| Father's Got a Job | Bob Cole (music) James Weldon Johnson (words) Madie Scott (perf.) Frank Seeley (perf.) |
||
| Under the Bamboo Tree | Bob Cole (music) J. Rosamund Johnson (words) Marie Cahill (perf.) Julie Mackey (perf.) |
| Title | Attribution | Instruments | Source | Remarks |
|---|
 |
Gimmie De Leavins (1904) | B. Cole (music) James Weldon Johnson (words) |
Piano, Voice | Indiana |  |
|
If Adam Hadn't Seen the Apple Tree (1906) | B. Cole (w&m) | Piano, Voice | IMSLP | Pub. |
|
Katy-Did, the Cricket and the Frog (1903), The | B. Cole (music) James Weldon Johnson (words) M. Cahill (perf.) |
Piano, Voice | Indiana | |
|
Ma Mississippi Belle (1903) | B. Cole (w&m) J. Rosamond Johnson (coauth.) M. Irwin (perf.) |
Piano, Voice | Indiana | Pub. |
|
Oh! You Georgia Rose (1912) | B. Cole (music) Johnnie Waters (coauth.) S. Brooks (words) W. Rossiter (words) Grace Wilson (perf.) |
Piano, Voice | Indiana | |
|
Under the Bamboo Tree (1902) | B. Cole (music) J. Rosamund Johnson (words) M. Cahill (perf.) |
Piano, Voice | Greer | Pub. |
This list is arranged in chronological order and contains 50 works by Bob Cole (1868-1911).
It does not claim to be complete and represents only the number of items located. Keys:
(w&m)
(w&m)
| Title | Year | Attribution | Remarks |
|---|
| Parthenia Took a Fancy to a Coon | 1893 | Verona Jarbeau (perf.) | |
| Black Four Hundred's Ball, The | 1896 | Billy Johnson (words) | |
| Christening of a Little Black Coon | 1897 | ||
| Hot Coon From Memphis | 1897 | George W. Walker (co-author) | |
| I Hope These Few Lines Will Find You Well (w&m) | 1897 | Billy Johnson (co-author) | Pub. |
| I Knowed You Afore Your Hair Got Straight | 1897 | ||
| No Coons Allowed | 1897 | Billy Johnson (co-author) | |
| Wedding of the Chinee and the Coon, The | 1897 | Billy Johnson (words) Silas Leachman (perf.) |
Pub. |
| I Wonder What Is That Coon's Game (w&m) | 1898 | J.W. Johnson (co-author) | Pub. |
| Queen of Shinbone Alley | 1898 | Gertie Carlisle (perf.) | |
| There's Warm Spot in My Heart For You Baby | 1898 | ||
| ⇑ Trip to Coontown, A (w&m) | 1898 | as Cole & Johnson | Pub. |
| When the War Is O'er | 1898 | Billy Johnson (co-author) | |
| Louisiana Lize | 1899 | J.W. Johnson (co-author) Rosamond Johnson (co-author) May Irwin (perf.) |
|
| Luckiest Coon in Town, The | 1899 | as Cole & Johnson | |
| Mr. Coon You're All Right in Your Place | 1899 | Minnie J. Rinehart (perf.) |
| Title | Year | Attribution | Remarks |
|---|
| Dar's Ragtime in De Moon | 1900 | J.W. Johnson (co-author) Rosamond Johnson (co-author) |
|
| I Must Have Been a Dreamin' | 1900 | |
|
| I've Got a White Man Working For Me | 1900 | J.W. Johnson (co-author) Rosamond Johnson (co-author) |
|
| Pickin' on a Chicken Bone | 1900 | George B. Alexander (perf.) | |
| Come Out Dinah on the Green | 1901 | James Weldon Johnson (co-author) Rosamund Johnson (co-author) |
|
| Lucy Green | 1901 | ||
| Maid From Tokio, The | 1901 | ||
| Maiden With the Dreamy Eyes, The | 1901 | J.W. Johnson (words) Anna Held (perf.) Thomas Q. Seabrooke (perf.) |
 |
| Old Flag Never Touched the Ground, The | 1901 | James Weldon Johnson (co-author) Rosamund Johnson (co-author) |
|
| My Angemima Green | 1902 | Louis Harrison (perf.) Dan McAvoy (perf.) |
|
| Oh, Didn't He Ramble | 1902 | J.W. Johnson (co-author) | Pub. |
| ⇑ Under the Bamboo Tree | 1902 | J. Rosamund Johnson (words) Marie Cahill (perf.) Judy Garland (perf.) Julie Mackey (perf.) Margaret O'Brien (perf.) |
Pub. |
| When the Band Plays Ragtime | 1902 | J. W. Johnson (words) | Pub. |
| Darkie's Avenoo | 1903 | ||
| Everybody Wants to See the Baby | 1903 | James T. Powers (perf.) | |
| Katy-Did, the Cricket and the Frog, The | 1903 | James Weldon Johnson (words) Marie Cahill (perf.) |
|
| Title | Year | Attribution | Remarks |
|---|
| Ma Mississippi Belle (w&m) | 1903 | J. Rosamond Johnson (co-author) May Irwin (perf.) |
|
| Moonlight on the Mississippi | 1903 | Rosamond Johnson (co-author) | |
| Save It For Me | 1903 | Marie Cahill (perf.) | Pub. |
| Sounds of the Times, Lindy | 1903 | Rosamond Johnson (co-author) J. W Johnson (words) |
|
| Countess of Alagazam, The | 1904 | ||
| Gimmie De Leavins | 1904 | James Weldon Johnson (words) | Pub. |
| Mexico (w&m) | 1904 | James W. Johnson (words) | Pub. |
| Pretty Little Squaw From Utah | 1904 | Rosamond Johnson (co-author) | |
| Sambo and Dinah | 1904 | Grace Nelson (perf.) Frank C. Stanley (perf.) |
Pub. |
| My Lulu San | 1905 | James Weldon Johnson (co-author) Rosamund Johnson (co-author) |
|
| Father's Got a Job | 1906 | James Weldon Johnson (words) Madie Scott (perf.) Frank Seeley (perf.) |
Pub. |
| ⇑ He Handed Me a Lemon | 1906 | J Rosamond Johnson (words) Robert S. Roberts (perf.) |
Pub. |
| If Adam Hadn't Seen the Apple Tree (w&m) | 1906 | from "The Shoo-Fly Regiment" | Pub. |
| Sugar Babe (w&m) | 1907 | James Weldon Johnson (co-author)
as Cole & Johnson |
Pub. |
| Won't You Be My Little Brown Bear? | 1907 | ||
| I've Lost My Teddy Bear | 1908 | Anna Held (perf.) |
| Title | Year | Attribution | Remarks |
|---|
| M'aimez Vous? | 1910 | ||
| Oh! You Georgia Rose | 1912 | Johnnie Waters (co-author) Shelton Brooks (words) Will Rossiter (words) Geo. Perry (perf.) Lee White (perf.) Grace Wilson (perf.) |
|
| Composer | Title | Performer |
|---|
|
B. Cole | The Maiden With The Dreamy Eyes (1904) (2:21) | Thomas Q. Seabrooke |
|
B. Cole | Under The Bamboo Tree (1917) (3:12) | M. Cahill |