Jacques Leon Wolfe (April 29, 1896 – June 22, 1973) was a Romanian-born American songwriter. Wolfe was born into a Jewish familyH. F. Woods, Geoffrey T. Hellman, Harold Ross, and Clifford Orr, “Another Composer”, September 9, 1933, ''The New Yorker'' in Botoşani,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. His family emigrated to New York when he was a very young child. He displayed musical talent as a youngster and, at 16, he entered the Institute of Musical Art, now known as

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. During World War I, he was stationed at Governor’s Island, where he played clarinet in a military band. Transferred south, Wolfe made his first direct contact with African-American music. He was fascinated with the genre and did extensive research on the history of black folk songs and spirituals. He became inspired to write his own music based on the style. His spirituals and “work songs” became very popular in sheet music form in the early 1930s. In 1934 Wolfe collaborated with poet

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

to write "Sad Song in de Air," published by Robbins Music Corp. Jacques Wolfe published a music arrangement of the folk song "

Short'nin' Bread "Shortnin' Bread" (also spelled "Shortenin' Bread", "Short'nin' Bread", or "Sho'tnin' Bread") is an American folk song dating back at least to 1900, when James Whitcomb Riley published it as a poem. While there is speculation that Riley may hav ...

" in 1928 with words edited by

Clement Wood Clement Richardson Wood (September 1, 1888 – October 26, 1950) was an American writer, lawyer and political activist. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1909 and received his law degree from Yale in 1911. Wood's second marriage was ...

. The song is a vaudeville "

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

" song written for stage during blackface shows. The music was published by Harold Flammer and distributed by G. Schirmer in

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 ...

. Also set "Three Negro Poems" by Clement Wood to music for "medium or low voice and piano". Published in 1928 by G. Schirmer, the three songs are entitled: "Debil-Foot", "De Glory Road" and "Gwine to Hebb'n". "De Glory Road" appears dedicated to

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

. Wolfe wrote the music for the 1931 film ''The Prodigal'' and in 1938, composed the music for a Broadway musical based on Roark Bradford’s ''

John Henry John Henry most commonly refers to: *John Henry (folklore) John Henry may also refer to: People Artists and entertainers * John Henry (actor) (1738–1794), Irish and early American actor *Seán Ó hEinirí (1915–1998), known in English as John ...

'', starring Paul Robeson in the title role. The musical opened in January 1940 and, some reviewers thought because of a weak script, closed five days later.

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* 1896 births 1973 deaths People from Botoșani American male songwriters American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Jews from Western Moldavia Romanian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American male musicians {{songwriter-stub