jules bledsoe is the first african-american to sing on broadway.n here, and waco, 1897, although there is some controversy -- i have seen 1898, 1902, but we will say 1897. he died in 1943. but the rich life that he led in between, we have his collection, 25 boxes. is that he wasg classically trained, well composer,s a singer, conductor. he is best known to the public from showboat. one of the original productions. river. old man the piece was written for his voice. frompeople know showboat the movie version, but it was on stage first and he sang that particular role of "old man river." collectione from his are some of his own notations that deal with it as arranged by jules bledsoe. joan kirn is a coast -- of course one of the composers. see that his collection is prolific with his original piece of work that he would rewrite. but he was just a gifted and talented individual. one of the other pieces that i pulled that i follow significant was owned to america, with words and music by jules bledsoe. respectfully dedicated, as it sat on the cover, to