Tom Lemonier

Tom Lemonier (March 29, 1870 — March 14, 1945) was an actor and composer of popular music during the ragtime era, particularly active in Black Vaudeville. His work featured in various musicals. Some of his work was published by the Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company.

Numerous recordings of his songs were made including on Victor Records and Columbia Records. In 1909 he joined the staff of music publisher Rose & Snyder.

Lemonier became one of the first African-American actors to perform in a Caucasian play when in 1910 he was hired to play a steward in William A. Brady's production of ''Over Night''. Previously these characters had been performed in blackface. Lemonier's abilities and the positive reception he received convinced Brady to hire additional African-American actors for the role in touring versions of the show.

Playbill notes him as a performer in the 1912 musical ''Little Miss Brown''. In addition to the original production, he was part of a national tour of this show. In 1915 Lemonier wrote the anthem, entitled ''Praise God We Are Not Weary'', for the National Half Century Exposition and Lincoln Jubilee.

Lemonier collaborated with various other musicians and lyricists to produce compositions. In 1917, Lemonier established a sheet music business with Lew Payton and Tom Brown. He appeared on radio station WGY in 1923 as a whistler. In 1926 he was concentrating entirely on sacred music. Provided by Wikipedia