Bman's Blues Report

Buck Washington died January 31, 1955. He was an African-American dancer, recognized as one of Vaudevilles best known all around entertainers and innovators. Ford Lee (Buck) Washington was from Louisville, Kentucky. In 1913 at the age of ten he joined Pianist John W. Sublett, later known as “Bubbles” who was one year older and an astonishing career began. Buck and Bubbles teamed up in Indianapolis, with Bubbles singing and dancing, and Buck accompanying on piano. After winning several amateur contests, they played professional engagements in Louisville, Kentucky (often in blackface), Detroit, Michigan, and New York City. Audiences were thrilled with Buck and Bubbles’s singing, dancing, and comedy routine, with Buck’s variations in tempo that forced Bubbles to quickly adapt. By 1922, they performed at New York’s Palace Theatre, the nation’s top vaudeville venue. They broke color barriers by headlining the white vaudeville circuit across the U. S., and were featured in several Broad...

Buck Washington was born on this date in 1903. He was an African-American dancer, recognized as one of Vaudevilles best known all around entertainers and innovators. Ford Lee (Buck) Washington was from Louisville, Kentucky. In 1913 at the age of ten he joined Pianist John W. Sublett, later known as “Bubbles” who was one year older and an astonishing career began. Buck and Bubbles teamed up in Indianapolis, with Bubbles singing and dancing, and Buck accompanying on piano. After winning several amateur contests, they played professional engagements in Louisville, Kentucky (often in blackface), Detroit, Michigan, and New York City. Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! -  ”LIKE”