Black Swan Blues: The hard rise and brutal fall of America's first black-owned record label

by Paul Slade

Forty years before Motown, there was Black Swan. Created by a young Black songwriter called Harry Pace, this pioneering 1920s blues label gave 14 million African-Americans the chance to hear their own authentic music on disc for the first time. Ethel Waters' Down Home Blues was the label's first big hit, its sales fuelled by a ground-breaking US tour which made headlines everywhere it touched down. Soon, the exciting new records Pace produced were pulling in white listeners as well as Black, and providing the essential soundtrack at every chic Hollywood party. But there was danger too.

In the Jim Crow South, Waters and her band were cheered to the echo on stage only to have racist insults spat at them in the street outside. In Georgia, the corpse of a young lynching victim was hurled into the lobby of a theatre Waters was just about to play. Pace had to battle a constant stream of dirty tricks from his white rivals, who were determined to sabotage Black Swan at every turn. This is the story of a truly remarkable record label - and of the even more remarkable man who founded it.

This expanded 2021 edition of the book, published to mark the 100th anniversary of Black Swan's launch, contains a wealth of new information and many fresh insights into both the label's own story and Harry Pace's determination to improve African-Americans' lives.

Genres: History, Book Club, Nonfiction

139 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 11, 2014

Reviews

[Stephanie Ridiculous · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting & quick read!

[Chris Queen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A remarkable story, but not the best writing.

[Abby]

Entertaining and informative book about a largely unknown piece of history. I would love to read more books on Harry Pace, Ethel Waters, and Black Swan.

[Kelly M Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written “ unsung “ or “behind the music” story!!!

The way his essay is presented grabs you , not in a scholary doctoral way but like someone that knows something and they want to share it with you . In a friendly manner
When I came to the end I was shocked it was over ! I even carefully read his footnotes and now have a nice wish list of books to read this fall and winter .
I learned a lot !
This is a must read for anyone who must research this particular time in history .

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good historical perspective on American history we didn't learn in school.

[Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely worth reading for the content. A good account of Black history and influences in music. And in particular the life of Harry Pace, who helped shape that history. Would give it four stars except for the typos.

[Hurley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt closer to a biography of Pace than a history of Black Swan Records.