NOBODY by Bert Williams - Black Vaudeville Comic 1913

[Kirke182]

Williams hated this song after a while because he couldn't get away from it.  Even towards the end of his career (died in '22, I believe), he was obliged to perform it at every show. It's one of those great forgotten classics.

[vinylsingleman]

Would you have the original 1906 version also?

[Danira777]

I've just finished reading beautifully written novel "Danicing in the Dark" by Caryl Phillips. The book reveals the story of Bert Williams's remarkable life on stage. The novel so impressed me that I decided to look for Mr. Williams on the Internet. I was surprised to find out that youtube contains lots of rare videos of him. Thanks guys a lot for uploading them. He was a true genius.

[TehWinnerz]

anyone found this thanks to Jason Moran?

[TheVirajster]

This is indeed rare! Hearing Bert's real  voice! Should check his only film short A NATURAL BORN GAMBLER here on youtube....

[AndrewGilmore1986]

@TheVirajster Not that rare really if you know where to find his records... Archeophone Records put out a three-volume set of them. :)

[OnePeoplesProjecttv]

I first heard this song a few months ago at an exhibit at the National Archives. Is this that recording?

[mawalls2001]

I actually love the scratches and pops of old recordings. Makes me feel a bit closer to that period, more authentic.

[Lucius1958]

An inimitable rendition!

[grenadian11]

very moving, he was truly a star and thanks to youtube we get a "taste" of those great artist that were not just "minstrel" but dignified human beings who wanted to perform and this venue was the few venues that were open to them but the hip hop stars of today could not light a candle to Bert Williams; a dignified human being indeed!

[VaVaVaViking]

Thank you for sharing

[kenedwards88]

When life seems full of clouds and rain, And I am filled with naught but pain, Who soothes my thumping, bumping brain? [pause] Nobody. When winter comes with snow and sleet, And me with hunger and cold feet, Who says, "Here's two bits, go and eat"? [pause] Nobody. I ain't never done nothin' to Nobody. I ain't never got nothin' from Nobody, no time. And, until I get somethin' from somebody sometime, I don't intend to do nothin' for Nobody, no time.

[stratocat9999]

Very Nice job! Those old GE VR carts totally rock for 78's and transcriptions! I'm using a Technics SP15 with Pickering V15AT with a 2.8 mil stylus. I have a dozen or so Bert Williams records, and I just might have to post a couple of sides. My personal faves are the two Elder Eatmore sides (and I think my copy is stronger than the versions on the Archeophone CD comps).

You really got me thinking of looking for one of these old Garrard 4H tables!

Thanks for sharing!

[deepseadirt]

if this is from 1913, you've done a great job of cleaning it up , eliminating the scratches, pops & crackles. In the 1978 film Ziegfeld: The Man & His Women, David Downing recreates Bert performing this song in the 1914 Follies with full orchestra behind him. I thought that sequence was wonderful in that film and wish someone would upload it for us. But Im glad to hear Bert himself performing a rendition of it and that it survives the decades. thanks!

[cdbpdx]

@deepseadirt The cartridge I use is very forgiving. It is a GE VR, a high end cartridge for mono 78 rpm records made in the mid 1950s.

Research reveals this label was used by Columbia Record from 1914-1917, the song shows a recording date of 1/7/13.

[callseba]

somebody needs to make a movie about this man.

[DarkMithras666]

"the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest man I ever knew." - W.C. Fields

[tayloreh]

@DarkMithras666 I've been reading about Bert all day. I hope everyone curious about him reads Dancing In The Dark.

[tunesailor]

This was Williams' signature song, and the one that took his stage personna from a stricly Minstrel caricature to that of a tragic everyman. First performed on Broadway in "In Dahomey" and "Abyssinia. 1904-1906

[granamedia]

Always wanted to hear this song. Thanks!

[GreeneMan4]

This song is great! This makes me laugh more than CASHs cover.

[AnSpailpinFanach]

WC Fields called B.W. the funniest man he ever saw and the saddest man he ever met, or something to that effect. He was one of the first black performers on Broadway and everybody loved him while he was denigrating himself and playing the "coon" onstage, but as soon as he got off it and went back to being a black man with talent and dignity, well... That had to hurt.

[liberal93]

i'm pretty sure that this is the song that inspired "mr. cellophane" from "chicago".

[mikedaley1968]

I think that this is a later recording of the song. I know the 1905 version and it's different and not as well recorded.

[blackwaxjh]

@mikedaley1968 The original recording of "Nobody" was released in 1906. I do think this was a later re-recording of this.

[AndrewGilmore1986]

@blackwaxjh Correct. This version is from 1913.

[Vorhees38]

1905 actually

[townesfan10]

@Vorhees38 - I just posted an earlier version, possibly the one you speak of