''Rhythm For Sale'' is a 2013 biography of performer, choreographer, and director
Leonard Harper. It was written by Grant Harper Reid, Harper's grandson. It was
self-published
Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...
by Reid on
CreateSpace
On-Demand Publishing, LLC, doing business as CreateSpace, was a self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The company was founded in 2000 in South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, So ...
. ''Rhythm For Sale'' has a total of 300 pages and the revised edition was published on August 11, 2014.
The book chronicles Harper's rise from a child performer to Broadway's top black theater director. In 1921 the Schubert Brothers signed Harper with his partner and future wife Osceola Blanks to be the first Black act to tour the all-white Schubert circuit of theaters. In 1923 Harper showcased his cabaret floorshows and black musical comedies in Harlem's
Cotton Club
The Cotton Club was a 20th-century nightclub in New York City. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue from 1923 to 1936, then briefly in the midtown Theater District until 1940. The club operated during the United States' era of P ...
and his mainstay
Connie's Inn
Connie's Inn was a Harlem, New York City, black and tan nightclub established in 1923 by Connie Immerman ''(né'' Conrad Immerman; 1893–1967) in partnership with two of his brothers, George (1884–1944) and Louie Immerman (1882–1955).
Hist ...
and the
Lafayette Theater.
The book details how Harper and black filmmaker
Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and c ...
created the first all-black talkie motion picture ''
The Exile
''The eXile'' was a Moscow-based English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting. In October 2006, co-editor Jake ...
'' in 1931. It covers his appearances at Harlem's
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...
. ''Rhythm For Sale'' explores the decline of Harper's career as his work became limited to small Harlem nightclubs. His 1943 death from a heart attack while rehearsing his Harperettes chorus line is covered, as is his funeral at the
Abyssinian Baptist Church
The Abyssinian Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch located at 132 West 138th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is affiliated with the National Bapt ...
.
On December 18, 2013, the
Steve Vibert Pouchie Latin Jazz Ensemble held a book signing event for ''Rhythm For Sale'' at Don Coqui's restaurant in
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...
.
On February 21, 2018, ''Rhythm For Sale'' won the Mid-Manhattan NAACP Branch Founder's Day Black History Month Book Award Winner.
References
External links
* {{cite news , title= Cosmopolitan Review: April 26 May 2 , author=Yvonne Delaney Mitchell , url=http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2018/apr/26/cosmopolitan-review-april-26-may-2/ , newspaper=
New York Amsterdam News
The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...
2013 non-fiction books
Biographies about African-American people
Biographies about actors