Cecil Mack (November 6, 1873 – August 1, 1944) was an American composer, lyricist and music publisher.

Biography

Born as Richard Cecil McPherson in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, he attended the Norfolk Mission College and Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (class of 1897) before leaving to go to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where the 1900 Federal Census lists his occupation as a stenographer. Mack started writing song lyrics, starting with "Good Morning, Carrie" in 1901. He co-founded the Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company in May 1905, in

; it was likely the first black-owned music publishing company. In July 1906, an article in ''

The New York Age ''The New York Age'' was an American weekly newspaper established in 1887 in New York City. It was widely considered one of the most prominent African-American newspapers of its time.

'' referred to Mack as the company's "secretary and treasurer and general business director." In 1907 he wrote the lyrics for the musical '' The Black Politician''. In 1925 he co-wrote the book for the musical ''Mooching Along''. Mack also formed a choir, the Southland Singers, that year. In 1931 he co-wrote the music for the musical ''Rhapsody in Black''.

Birth date

His birthdate is also given as 1880 and 1883, and an 1876 date is shown by his World War I Draft Registration card, as referenced above, and the 1900 US Census, but an 1891 Navy Enlistment Record and the 1880 Federal census both point to an 1873 birth year.

Personal life

Mack married Dr. Gertrude Curtis on April 8, 1912, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Curtis was a pioneering African-American

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

who practiced 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 ...

. They remained married until his death. They had no children. Gertrude re-married in 1946 to Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson (1888–1990), a comedian.

Death

Mack died in

, aged 70. ''The New York Age'', quoting his obituary from ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

,'' observed, "Not even

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

exceeded the output of this talented New York Negro. His songs were as American as

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Folk music, folk music during the Romantic music, Romantic period. He wr ...

's – one or two of them may be remembered as long – and were typically representative of the pre-radio era when fortunes were made over the 10-cent-store counters. Cecil Mack's songs were pure fun and never had an off-color line."

Notable works

As lyricist, Mack's notable works include: *"Good Morning, Carrie" (1901, co-wrote music and lyrics with J. Tim Brymn) *"Please Go Away and Let Me Sleep" (1902) *"He's a Cousin of Mine" (1902) *"The Little Gypsy Maid" (1904 or before) *"Zongo, My Congo Queen" (1904 or before) *"

Teasing Teasing has multiple meanings and uses. In human interactions, teasing exists in three major forms: ''playful'', ''hurtful'', and ''educative''. Teasing can have a variety of effects, depending on how it is used and its intended effect. When t ...

" (1904) *"All in down and out" (1906) *"You're In the Right Church (But the Wrong Pew)" (1908, co-wrote music and lyrics with Chris Smith) *"I'm Miss Hanna from Savannah" (between 1908 and 1910) *" That's Why They Call Me Shine"(1910) *"Way Down East" (1911) words by Cecil Mack, music by Joe Young and Harold Norman *"Someone's Waiting Down in Tennessee" (1912, co-wrote music and lyrics with

James Reese Europe James Reese Europe (February 22, 1880 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African-American music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake called him ...

) *" Charleston" (1923, co-wrote music and lyrics with James P. Johnson) *" Old Fashioned Love" (1923, co-wrote music and lyrics with James P. Johnson for the show )

Bibliography

Notes

References linked to notes

* ; ; . *

p. 44.

* * . * ().

* * *

External links

Cecil Mack biodata
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, Cecil 1873 births 1944 deaths Songwriters from Virginia American lyricists Musicians from Portsmouth, Virginia Musicians from New York City African-American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century African-American musicians