H. Franklin "Baby" Seals ( – December 29, 1915) was an American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performer, songwriter and pianist, whose successful 1912 song "Baby Seals' Blues" was one of the first published

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

compositions, predating

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musician ...

's "

The Memphis Blues "The Memphis Blues" is a song described by its composer, W. C. Handy, as a "southern rag". It was self-published by Handy in September 1912 and has been recorded by many artists over the years. "Mr. Crump" Subtitled "Mr. Crump", "The Memphis ...

" by several months.

Biography

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, Seals was born in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, around 1880. He first came to public attention in 1909 as the pianist at the Lyric Theatre in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

. In 1910 his

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

coon song Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they we ...

" "Shake, Rattle & Roll" (unrelated, except in title, to the later song by

Jesse Stone Jesse Stone may refer to: People * Jesse Stone (musician) (1901–1999) was an American musician and songwriter, also known as Charles Calhoun. * Jesse Stone (Wisconsin politician) (1836–1902), Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 1899 to 1902 ...

) was published by Louis Grunewald & Co. in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The same year, he directed and performed in shows in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, where he partnered "Baby" Floyd Fisher, described as a "dainty little singing and dancing

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

". Seals and Fisher were married, performed together as a duo, and in 1911 appeared in shows in New York,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, demonstrating their wide appeal. Erwin Bosman, "How criticism helped the vaudeville: The spotlight on Franklin "Baby" Seals", ''NoDepression.com'', November 5, 2012
. Retrieved 5 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018 "Baby Seals' Blues" was published in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

in August 1912, with words and music credited to Baby F. Seals, and stating that it was featured by Seals and Fisher, "that Klassy Kooney Komedy Pair". The sheet music stipulated that it was to be played "very slow". The lyrics are similar to those in later recorded blues: "I got the blues, can't be satisfied today/ I got them bad, want to lay down and die/ Woke up this morning 'bout half past four/ Somebody knocking at my door/ I went out to see what it was about / They told me that my honey gal was gone/ I said, bub that's bad news/ So sing for me them blues." The song was arranged by

Artie Matthews Artie Matthews (November 15, 1888 – October 25, 1958) was an American songwriter, pianist, and ragtime composer. Artie Matthews was born in Braidwood, Illinois; his family moved to Springfield, Illinois in his youth. He learned to play p ...

, and seems to have sold well. It rapidly entered the repertoire of other vaudeville performers, including both

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( Lemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz ...

and the

yodel Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from t ...

er Charles Anderson, who recorded the tune in 1923 as "Sing 'Em Blues". By late 1912, the tune had also been

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...

for performance by bands, and by 1913 Seals was being noted as a "famous blues writer". It was widely advertised in the ''

Indianapolis Freeman The ''Indianapolis Freeman'' (1884–1926) was the first illustrated black newspaper in the United States. Founder and owner Louis Howland, who was soon replaced by Edward Elder Cooper, published its first print edition on November 20, 1884. H ...

'', with whom Seals regularly corresponded, establishing himself as a spokesman for Southern performers. During 1912, Seals and Fisher performed regularly in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, before a series of engagements in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, Mobile,

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. They performed with S. H. Dudley's company along the east coast and in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, but by 1915 Seals was working as a solo act.Abbott, Seroff, op.cit. pp.143-144 He died in

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...

, in December 1915, of unknown causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seals, Baby Franklin 1880s births 1915 deaths Year of birth uncertain American blues singers African-American male comedians African-American comedians American male comedians American vaudeville performers Musicians from Mobile, Alabama 20th-century American singers 20th-century American comedians 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers Comedians from Alabama