One of the earliest Black superstars, singer Florence Mills (1896-1927) on August 1, 1923 in ‘Dover Street to Dixie’ at the London Pavilion.
Born into poverty in Washington DC., Mills began performing at the age of five quickly developing a name on the vaudeville and burlesque circuits. In 1921 Mills gained her first major role, the lead in the hit musical Shuffle Along. In 1922 she appeared in Plantation Revue on Broadway, and the following year she travelled to London to perform in From Dover to Dixie at the London Pavilion. In 1926 she appeared in Blackbirds singing 'I'm a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird' which became her signature song. Although no recordings have survived she is considered to be one of the leading performers of the Jazz Age and of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.
Best known as the lead in the first all-black Broadway musical, “Shuffle Along” in 1921, Ms. Mills sudden death in 1927 at the height of her popularity devastated her friends and fans in the United States and Europe.
An estimated 150,000 people lined the streets of Harlem to mourn her passing.
Born into poverty in Washington DC., Mills began performing at the age of five quickly developing a name on the vaudeville and burlesque circuits. In 1921 Mills gained her first major role, the lead in the hit musical Shuffle Along. In 1922 she appeared in Plantation Revue on Broadway, and the following year she travelled to London to perform in From Dover to Dixie at the London Pavilion. In 1926 she appeared in Blackbirds singing 'I'm a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird' which became her signature song. Although no recordings have survived she is considered to be one of the leading performers of the Jazz Age and of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.
Best known as the lead in the first all-black Broadway musical, “Shuffle Along” in 1921, Ms. Mills sudden death in 1927 at the height of her popularity devastated her friends and fans in the United States and Europe.
An estimated 150,000 people lined the streets of Harlem to mourn her passing.