Newspaper Page Text
Entertainme™
At 94, Herb Jeffries still knows the tricks of his [
trade. "I still have a four-and-a-half octave range," asserts the robust singer, minutes after |
performing classic jazz tunes at the 2005 Sweet & Hot Music Festival in Los Angeles.
Jeffries received rousing applause after he sang gems such as "It
Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)’’ and “Flamingo,"
which he originally performed in the 1930 s and ’4os as a jazz singer
in the band of the legendary Duke Ellington. ™
>' Mm.. J
a_ « • _<•■■ a i. * a.
Jeffries still belts ’em out.
let him play cowboys with them. The white kids were the child’s
friends, not neighborhood bullies. They simply thought cowboys
couldn’t be black.
After all, who could blame them' Hollywood’s portrayal of cowboys
was all-white, despite the feet that, historically, blacks played a major
role in domesticating the Western frontier.
“Thar really hit me hard,” Jeffries says. “I wanted to do something
«■***••• SESJ
35mm iet!
Don't miss out on this 35-coin complete set of
Uncirculated Statehood quarters! Hoarded by the
public, these popular coins are now vanishing from
circulation and WILL NEVER BE MINTED AGAIN!
But now. with this special offer for new customers
only, you can own a complete year set of
Uncirculated Statehood quarters - 1999-2005 - for
just $19.95! Enjoy a special savings of 65% off
regular prices and get FREE shipping to your home!
Plus, order now, and you'll also get the 2005
first-release Buffalo and latest Ocean-in-View
nickels, absolutely FREE!
You'll also receive our fully illustrated catalog,
plus other fascinating selections from our Free
Examination Coins-on-Approval Service, from
which you may purchase any or none - return
balance in 15 days - with option to cancel at any
time. Don’t delay! Get these historic once-in-a
lifetime quarters before they vanish forever!
02006 u ( it if 45-Day Money Back Guarantee of Satisfaction
rmppi Act now! Get a Complete V '
hk p p 2-Coln Set of special-issue f tyHid )
lIIVLLI zoos Nickels V K-~y
i ypni Please send me the complete Uncirculated 1999-2005 Statehood Quarter Year Set for the special price of
» I sl9 95 (regularly with Free Shipping (limit 5) Plus, my FREE Uncirculated 2005 Nickels
[ (one of each per customer, please).
■i Dept. KL5430 | ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED WITHIN 30 DAYS | How .Many (limit 5 sets).
Littleton 1309 Mt. Eustis Road 1 — 1 _ . . t ,. t
Can Cornea; LiUleton NH 03561-3737 Total Cost 4»519.05 per SCI: S _
J Method of payment: J Check or Money Order enclosed Plus, add a Statehood Folder to
; JVISA j Master Card J American Express J Discover Network display your collection for only
I Card No. Exp. Date 1 St SO-you SAVE 62%! (limits):*
J 1 1 1 1 1 1-1 L . 1 I . 1. L 1 J 1 1 1 Shipping & Handling SFREE!
! Name Total Amount: $
j Please punt your complete name and address clearly
• Special Offer for New Customers Only
l Over 60 Years of
J £jjy State Zip Friendly Service to Collectors
Bronze b y johnberlau j
BucKaroo\
Riding High
But it was a career detour from jazz
in the ’3os that most defines Jeffries’ place in
history. Billed as America’s first black singing
movie cowboy, he made four Westerns as
the Bronze Buckaroo, a character who
blazed a new trail tor people of color
in Hollywtxxl.
Jeffries recalls taking a break from jjHBC
a musical performance in Cinon- MmBB
nati in 193 t and seeing a black
child crying in an alley because a
group of white children wouldn't
Now Get Complete Year Sets
1
9
9
9
2
O
O
O
2
O
o
1
2
O
o
2
2
0
o
3
2
O
0
4
2
O
0
5
r Mst
L ; y . yyj
I &I r JUSSIS) i ]
8 v J
, :J^s*\^y^.'- -jJ
Herb Jeffries in the ’3os (below), and today
and I have never seen a black man. We’re all human beings,” he says. “We all
have the same two ears, hair on our head, two eyes, a nose and mouth, ten
fingers and ten toes, and we all go to the bathroom."
He persuaded a Hollywood producer to back him, learned some horse
riding stunts and starred in the first singing Western with an all-black cast.
. “I picked up one script that said Sunset on the Prairie',' Jeffries recalls. “I said,
'Why not use this and call it Harlem on the Prairie!"
The movie was a hit, so Jeffries made four more. As his films
|H played the big screens across America, black children could look up
to a cowboy who looked more like them.
H “I liked Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy,” says blues gui-
tarist 8.8. King, recalling his own fondness for cowboys as
fmoUfieb a youngster. “But [Herb] happened to be a black one, and
that made it very good.” Today, King has Jeffries’ movies in
his home-video collection.
I After making die Bronze Buckaroo films, Jeffries went back to jazz,
| becoming the first permanent male vocalist in Ellington’s band. After
L Pearl Harbor was attacked, he joined the Army’s Special Services unit and
entertained troops during World War II and the Korean War. Returning
Ipflß to civilian life, he recorded several albums, guest-starred on TV programs
such as Hawaii 5-0 and / Dream of Jearnte, appeared in several made-for-
TV movies and became a popular nightclub singer... again.
Last year, on his 9.3 id birthday, he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame. He has been inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City
and honored at Los Angeles’ (Gene) Autry National Center museum, which is named
after Jeffries' late friend and fellow singing cowboy. And in 2(X)3, Jeffries was invited for
the first time to perform at the White House, where President George W. Bush hugged
him onstage and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell told Jeffries how much the Bronze
Buckaroo films meant to him as a child.
Jeffries, who lives in Idyllwild, Calif (pop. 3,504), still honors both his Western and
musical heritages. His most recent album is a collection of Western tunes. The Bronze
Buckaroo Rides Again.
Currently at work on his autobiography, Jefferies insists he is not old, just “vintage.”
Before his performance at the Sweet & Hot Festival, he playfully addressed his audience.
“How would you like to have a bottle of 94-year-old vintage wine?” he asked.
Judging from the applause, they liked it just fine.
John Berlau is a contributor to American
Profile who lives in Falls Church. Va.
MfjjJiniji
The ULTIMATE Cowboy
——— Music Collection
l You'll find many of the best cowboy songs in this collection of three
classic cowboy CDs. "The Best of Tex Ritter" indudes his number one hit
I'm Wastin' My Tears on You and in "The Greatest Cowboy Songs Ever/'
you'll hear Happy Trails, Home on the Range and many more. And in "The
Singing Cowboys," father and son Rex Allen Sr. and Rex Allen Jr. hook up
to bring you dassics like Tumbling Tumbleweeds and many more.
To order ALL THREE CDs FOR $29.96 + s/h, please have your credit
card ready and call (800) 715-6248, M-F, Bam - spm, CST, or send check/
money order for $29.98 + $4.95 ($34.93 total) to Cowboys Husk Offer
- Dept AP, P.O. Box 340, Harrison, AR 72602
Residents ot'CA. C.T. TN. IL. AR mxl NY add sales rax. NSF clicks will lx- automatically dcUted U* the amount of tlx;
check jihis applicable foe*. Offer is limited and expires VIS/06. Please allow 2-4 weeks liir delivery.
I thought would benefit everyone, not
just dark-skinned children. Something
to provide a little education. So I
became the Bronze Buckaroo.”
Jeffries’ ethnicity is a smooth,
blended cocktail mix of Italian, Irish,
Ethiopian and French Canadian. The
tan tone of his skin always made it
fairly easy to label him "black,” a des
ignation he never shunned —but never
wholly embraced, either.
“I have never seen a white man,
Rate This Story
How did you like this story? Log
on www.americanprofile.com/rate
Page 10
•American Profile