[78-L] Golden & Golden and who knows what else

[Michael Biel]

bruce78rpm at comcast.net wrote:

>> Golden & Hughes was the first of a long line of two-man
>> comedy teams that delivered jokes in a black dialect. 

Source?????   This doesn't seem possible.  This goes way back in 
minstrel tradition.

>> Billy Golden (born William Shires, 1858-1926; started his
>> career in 1874 doing a black-face talking act in vaudeville. 

At age 16?

 From Uncle Dave Lewis:
 > Ryan Barna has posted the Billy Golden/William B. Shires death cert 
on the web.
 > It states that he was 63 years old, which would indicate a birthdate 
of 1862 rather
 > than 1858;

This would have him start at age 12!!

 >> he was one of the earliest "named" artists to make Berliner discs 
(prior to this,
 >> Berliner discs did not name any artists who performed on the disc).

WHAT???!!  Golden started around 1897.  Berliner discs were SIGNED by 
the performers as early as 1894 and maybe even earlier.. 

>> Joe Hughes (born Joseph Sovey, 1863-1922?; had performed in
>> vaudeville for many years before teaming up with Billy Golden in 1907.

How could they be first if they started as late as 1907?

Where did this come from?????

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com