Eubie Blake was a pioneering composer and pianist whose career spanned eight decades, from ragtime's origins through the jazz age and beyond. Born in Baltimore in 1887, he composed hundreds of songs including early ragtime pieces like "Charleston Rag" (1899) and the enduring standard "Memories of You" (1930, with lyricist Andy Razaf). His landmark 1921 collaboration with Noble Sissle on the Broadway musical Shuffle Along produced "I'm Just Wild About Harry" and helped pave the way for African American theatrical productions. Blake's compositions bridged ragtime's syncopated vitality with popular song craft.
