Developments in the world of Florence Mills lore may not happen at the frenetic pace of the modern media but there are plenty of things happening from time to time so I hope to update this page regularly.
The previous editions of news can be seen still at Archive No. 1, No. 2 , No.3 , No.4 , No.5 , No.6 , No.7, No.8 , NO.9, No.10, No.11, No.12, No.13, No.14, No.15 No.16 and No.17
New book with important Florence Mills connections
February being Black History Month I am pleased to announce that the final
text of my new book on the
history of
African American Entertainers in Australia and
New Zealand: From First Fleet (1788) to Pearl Harbor (1941)
is now in the hands of
the publisher (
McFarland ) and
will hopefully be available later this year.
Although Florence
Mills is not the subject, many of the people whose time in the region are
covered were her friends, or associated with her.
These include
Ø
Eva
Taylor, jazz singer and wife of composer/pianist Clarence Williams
Eva
recorded Florence’s theme song “I’m a Little Blackbird” with Louis Armstrong and
Sydney Bechet in 1924
and included it in her repertoire for the rest of
her life
Ø
Ivie
Anderson, the greatest of Duke Ellington’s vocalists, who was performing “I’m a
Little Blackbird” in Australia in 1928, only months after Florence’s death
Ø
Willie
Covan, tap dancer, who was in several of Florence’s shows including
Shuffle Along
Ø
Nina Mae
McKinney, beautiful film star, who got her showbiz start in
Blackbirds of 1928 and was hailed as
“the next Florence Mills”
Ø
Crescent
Clinton Rosemond, who had a long film career after he played in Florence’s show
Blackbirds of 1927
Ø
The
comedy dance team of Williams and Taylor, who also featured in
Blackbirds of 1927
That's all for now, folks