Adelaide Hall is the missing link in Harlem's widely documented renaissance - historically, the richest period of American black culture. As its most important and influential female star, Adelaide pushed down the barriers that had previously prevented black entertainers from achieving mass recognition. The astounding media attention she received on both sides of the Atlantic during her two-year starring role in Lew Leslie's broadway revue Blackbirds Of 1928 turned her into what can only be termed the first international black female superstar.

With fame came controversy. Her Broadway performance incited a riot. After purchasing an exclusive estate in Larchmont, a predominantly white suburb in Westchester County, New York, the persecution she encountered from her racist neighbours hit national headlines.

In Underneath A Harlem Moon, Iain Cameron Williams takes the reader on a fascinating roller-coaster ride from Adelaide's birth in brooklyn through her humble childhood in Harlem, from her triumphs on Broadway to the glamour of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, appearances at the most sophisticated and celebrated nightclubs in the world, and across two continents on a ground-breaking eighteen-month RKO tour. By the end of 1932, Adelaide had performed to millions and in the process became one of America's wealthiest black women. Her exile to Paris in 1935 brought new challenges and rewards. By 1938, not content with being dubbed the Queen of Montmartre, she set her sights on conquering Britain. The book conclues with her mysterious disappearance in November 1938, which until now has never been publicly explained.

CONTENTS:
Sing to the Moon & the Stars Will Shine 1901-27
Four and twenty Blackbirds Baked in A Pie 1928-29
And the Money Came Rolling In 1930-35
Someone's Sitting On My Cloud 1936-38
Career Dates; Recordings; Movies

back to previous page

back to previous page

PAPERBACK EDITION available