DETAILS:  Original hand signed photograph of jazz musician and entertainer Jimmy Smith. Smith who was an accomplished vibraphonist and xylophonist known for his extraordinary performances which he would commence as an instrumentalist and then transition to completing his songs while dancing atop the instrument! He was also an accomplished soprano noted for his smooth vocal rendition of blues music. Aside from his talents as an entertainer, Smith was a gifted inventor who built all of the musical props he used in his performances. In 1944 Music Dial magazine called him "the most unique and outstanding act in show business". Measures 8" x 10" inches. Rare.


PROVENANCE: From the Estate of Millie Cynthia Weaver-Hitt, a mid-20th-century African American performer who began touring Black vaudeville and variety revues at the age of 12.  She performed alongside her father Billie Hitt, a prominent comic, musician, and show manager on the Black vaudeville circuit. The duo gained notoriety for their exceptional singing and dancing talents. By 1950, Millie and her father were the featured performers in Jockey Grey’s "Brown Scandals." This traveling troupe included an array of notable Black musicians, exotic dancers, and comedians, such as rhythm-and-blues singer Wee Bea Booze, Ruth Brown, and shake dancer Queenie Buckner. At the end of their 1953 tour, Millie joined Bea Booze, Ruth Brown and Dottie Hayes to form the Coppertones quartet. The group worked together for only a short while before Bea Booze returned to nightclubs and theater dates as a solo act (the "See See Rider Girl") and Ruth Brown went to New York to appear at a Greenwich Village club. Following this, Dottie and Millie continued performing together and changed their name to the Copperettes (sometimes billed as the "Hitt Sisters"). After numerous appearances, they recorded "True Love Is Missing" and "If You Asked Me" on the Groove label, which was released under the name The Two Sweethearts. Eleven years later, they recorded again on the Topper label as Dottie & Millie (also known as The Two Sweethearts).

 

Oxxbridge Galleries was founded in 1987 and specializes in vintage paper items with a particular focus on counter culture materials. We are among the largest sellers of original Black Civil Rights and African Americana items in the US. We invite everyone to visit our ebay store to see our entire inventory.