Chapter 1 Dedication Chapter 2 Acknowledgments Chapter 3 Editor's Foreword Chapter 4 Preface Chapter 5 Introduction Chapter 6 Abbreviations Chapter 7 1. Young Florence Chapter 8 2. Out in the World Chapter 9 3. The Rocky Road to Fame Chapter 10 4. Shufflin' to the Top Chapter 11 5. Transatlatic Star Chapter 12 6. Dixie Dreams Chapter 13 7. The Great White Way Chapter 14 8. A Blackbird Takes Wing Chapter 15 9. Looking for a Bluebird in Europe Chapter 16 10. Black Birds of 1927 Chapter 17 11. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Chapter 18 12. Bye Bye Blackbird Chapter 19 13. Florence Mills: A Reappraisal Chapter 20 Appendix 1: Black Beauty Chapter 21 Appendix 2: Other Commemorative Items Chapter 22 Bibliography Chapter 23 Index Chapter 24 About the Author
Bill Egan is an Irish-born citizen of Australia and has pursued a lifelong interest in jazz and African American culture.
The book is methodically researched and carefully documented, using
primary source material that has only recently become available;
the latter includes numerous interviews with Mills and her husband.
A fine addition to the "Studies in Jazz" series, this well-written
biography provides rich insights into an important figure in
American music. Recommended.
*CHOICE*
Suffice it to say that there are few individuals who have ever
heard of Florence Mills, and that includes some resolute jazz
enthusiasts. But through much persistence Bill Egan has changed
that and has illuminated our awareness of this entertainment
legend....Harlem Jazz Queen explores the association between
Florence and the early beginnings of jazz and ragtime, her keen
intelligence and strong social conscience, and her phenomenal
success as the first black international female superstar. It also
documents her association with classical music with noted composers
William Grant Still and Constant Lambert. This is a history that
was too long coming, but one that will captivate and enlighten
readers.
*The Rawsistaz Reviewers*
I enjoyed Florence Mills: Harlem Jazz Queen, by Bill Egan. It's an
exhaustively thorough biography of a woman who was arguably the
first international African American female star of the
entertainment world....Mills is largely forgotten today, but Mr.
Egan's affectionate and scholarly and immensely entertaining
biography should correct that. His book is a monument not only to
Mills' memory, but to the history of popular theatre as it matured
via jazz from vaudeville to Broadway.
*Eric Washington, National Public Radio, Summer Reading: The
Listeners Choose*
Welcome addition to the jazz canon...Mills' artistic contributions
come to life again in Bill Egan's prose....documenting this
entertainer par excellence...Egan also provides the reader with an
always important historical context.
*Ellingtonia*
Elegantly written and illustrated, this fascinating volume, ten
years in the making, is a worthy addition to Scarecrow's 'Studies
in Jazz' series and a fine read at that.
*Jazz Uk Magazine*
Bill Egan has created a first-rate biography, researched with
passion, scholarly detail and clear commitment to the documentation
of jazz artistry and culture...
*Bill Banfield, Director, American Cultural Studies/Jazz,
University of St. Thomas*
By dint of dedicated and meticulous research, Bill Egan has managed
to almost bring his subject back to life. She emerges from these
pages not as a relic from the past but as a surprisingly
contemporary and fully fledged human being, a woman not only of
great beauty, charm and talent, but also of remarkable intelligence
and humanity.
*Dan Morgenstern, director, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers
University; dean of jazz historians; editor, Studies in Jazz
series*
As the first black female international superstar, jazz singer
Florence Mills (1896-1927) changed the nature of black
entertainment and opened doors for generations of performers. This
text considers her influence on some important aspects of jazz
singing and describes her connections with Duke Ellington.
Independent scholar Egan concludes by examining Mills' association
with classical music through composers William Grant Still and
Constant Lambert.
*Reference and Research Book News*
...a unique biography of the African American entertainer of the
1920s from childhood to her death at age 31.
*The Bookwatch*
Florence Mills, who died tragically young in 1927, was undoubtedly
the most influential female black entertainer of her day...Bill
Egan's deeply rewarding book reflects his 10 years work by taking
us through her life and career in meticulous detail...organised
with clarity in an easy straightforward style.
*The Jazz Rag*
...this well written and comprehensive biography will be an
invaluable reference as well as paying tribute to an extraordinary
performer.
*The Irish Echo*
Recommended.
*QBR: The Black Book Review*
This is undeniably the best book on jazz I have ever read.
*The Jazz Gazette*
Bill Egan's excellent new biography Florence Mills: Harlem Jazz
Queen brings this crucial figure back to life, showing her
important role in jazz and indeed African-American history....Egan
skillfully interweaves Mills' personal journey with historical
background, showing the vitality and rough edges in this rich
period of early jazz....thanks goodness for Egan, whose ten years
of meticulous, tenacious research has at last given Mills a proper
biography....the book's rich selection of photographs shows Mills
shining with a vitality that's inspiring even eight decades after
her death.
*All About Jazz*
Bill Egan collects data carefully and is excellent in analyzing
Mills' impact on the culture and her central role in black show
business as it matured....Egan's book well conveys Mills'
charismatic power....well researched and well written, useful to
anyone with any interest in American music and culture.
*The Mississippi Rag, September 2006*
Egan has done a first class job of assembling his material...I'd
recommend this book to anyone wanting more information on a key
figure of the Twentieth century musical theatre...
*VJM's Jazz and Blues Mart, No. 145 (Spring 2007)*
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