The history of Jubilee Singers in Seattle

by Candace Burgess

In the 1920s, Seattle was in the midst of a transformation. No longer a bustling wartime city, tensions were high between employers and labor unions. The wartime population grew while accommodations became scarce. Trauma from the outgoing Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 (Spanish flu) fostered a culture of social distancing and isolation. And the Red Scare, as well as the re-emergence of the KKK, further exacerbated and codified racial animosities against minorities in the majority white town. Despite these adversities, Seattle still advanced. It became a cultural hub, attracting all manner of artists and musicians. It is in this context that the Fisk Jubilee Singers made their first appearance in Seattle.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an a cappella ensemble of singers comprised of Black students from Fisk University (a historically Black institution). Organized in October of 1871 to fundraise for their college, they popularized Negro spirituals and pioneered the practice of Jubilee ensembles.

Queen Anne Historical Society.

Seattle Union Record, April 30, 1920, page 11.

Left: Image of the Queen Anne Congregational Church. Courtesy of Queen Anne Historical Society.
Right: Announcement for the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ May 1st concert. Courtesy of Seattle Union Record Archives via Newspapers.com.

The group made their Seattle debut on May 1, 1920, at Queen Anne Congregational Church (where a KIRO TV tower now stands). As part of a larger tour of Washington State, the concert began at 8 PM and no admission was charged. No known program or review of the concert exists today. However, we do know that the group had a second performance on May 2 during the evening service of the historic Mount Zion Baptist Church. We also know the group was well received while in the Puget Sound area. In a review in Cayton’s Weekly, it was said that “in the churches of Tacoma and Seattle where they sung standing room was at a premium, and those who heard them declare them to be the most wonderful musical aggregation they had ever heard.” Upon the group’s departure on May 6, the Seattle Union Record stated, “The Fisk Jubilee Singers have come and gone and, in their concerts, have left a trail of good cheer and harmony that will linger like a sweet, perfume.”

Cayton's Weekly, May 8, 1920, page 2.

Review of the Fisk Jubilee Singers in the Black Newspaper Cayton's Weekly, which was founded by Seattle Republican newspaper founder Horace Cayton.

 

Seattle Union Record, May 6, 1920, page 10.

Left: Fisk Jubilee Singers, circa 1870s. Public Domain.
Right: Departure notice of the Fisk Jubilee Singers in the Seattle Union Record. Courtesy of Seattle Union Record Archives via Newspapers.com.

For the Jubilee Singers, glowing reviews were par for the course. The original Fisk Jubilee singers (1871–1878) traveled around the continental U.S. and Europe performing for esteemed individuals such as U.S. President Henry Grant, Queen Victoria, and Wilhelm I of Germany and Prussia. A second iteration of the group unaffiliated with Fisk University (1879 to 1899) was invited to perform in Australia, India, and Japan. The third iteration (1899–today), which came through Seattle in 1920, has successfully recorded over 41 spirituals and is officially associated with Fisk University. However, glowing reviews from the Seattle public had additional weight due to the legacy of Jubilee singers in Seattle.

A Culture of Jubilee Songs

By 1920, Seattle was no stranger to Jubilee singers. Beginning in 1877, groups of Black non-Fisk Jubilee Singers would regularly frequent the city. Troupes that came often to Seattle include The Original Tennessee Jubilee Singers, The Kentucky Jubilee Singers, The Dixie Jubilee Singers, The Slayton Jubilee Singers, and The Williams Jubilee Singers. It’s interesting to note that Fisk Jubilee member Maggie Porter brought her Jubilee group to Seattle. Also called the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the group performed several times between 1890 and 1904.

Black people in the communities surrounding Seattle also organized their own groups of Jubilee Singers. In 1897, the Black community of Tacoma, Washington, formed the Puget Sound Jubilee Singers. The group traveled around the Puget Sound area, singing primarily for Black churches in Seattle and Tacoma. As such, the group often engaged Black Seattle talent for their performances. The area also was home to the Tacoma Jubilee Singers and the Puget Sound Four.

The Tacoma Daily Ledger, June 27, 1897, page 8.

The Tacoma Daily Ledger, June 28, 1897, page 4.

Left: Ad for a performance by the Puget Sound Jubilee Group in The Tacoma Daily Ledger. Courtesy of The Tacoma Daily Ledger Archives via Newspapers.com
Right: Article about the African Carnival being held at Ninth St. Theatre, featuring the Puget Sound Jubilee Group in The Tacoma Daily Ledger. Courtesy of The Tacoma Daily Ledger Archives via Newspapers.com.

It would take another 45 years for Seattle to establish its own Jubilee group, the Fleming Jubilee Singers. Organized by M. A. Fleming, the ensemble would come to be known as one of the best Black vocal groups in Seattle.

Northwest Enterprise, January 24, 1936, page 1.

Seattle Public Library, Seattle Room Digital Collections

Left: Announcement and program for the Fleming Jubilee Group in the Black newspaper The Northwest Enterprise. Courtesy of The Northwest Enterprise Archives via Newspapers.com.
Right: Image of the Collins Field House, ca. 1910. Courtesy of Seattle Public Library’s Seattle Room Digital Collections.

After 1920, Jubilee singers continued to frequent Seattle until the 1940s.  Within that timeframe, The Fisk Jubilee singers came back at least twice. Their last Seattle performance on March 22, 1946, marked one of the last Jubilee concerts heard in the city. So, as we prepare for the world premiere of Jubilee in Seattle, we not only acknowledge a new beginning but also celebrate the legacy of Jubilee singers in our past.

Candace Burgess is a versatile scholar, researcher, educator, and vocalist. She holds a Bachelor and Master of Music in Performance, Voice, from Duquesne University and is currently pursuing her PhD in Musicology at the University of Pittsburgh’s Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on Black history in Classical Vocal music. In particular, Candace is interested in investigating historical Black Classical music communities as seen in Brazil, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans, Louisiana.