jerry garcia

Depending upon how far one traces music back into the historical ether, it seems that the art form was just as frequently a mode of expression as it was a business. Expending effort to craft and disseminate a work, even from the earliest portions of the twentieth century very quickly made folks want to earn a dime. And obviously even before that there was minstrelsy and Vaudeville. Those latter two, though, just didn’t have 78s to hock, so too bad for the coffers.

Either way, there were disparate markets to reach – namely white and black. Only the most savvy song writers and business men were able to reach both. Will Shade was one of those guys. Read more