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George Washington Dixon (1801?〔Many biographies list his birth year as 1808, but Cockrell, ''Demons of Disorder'', 189, argues that 1801 is the correct date. This is based on Dixon's records at a New Orleans hospital, which list him as 60 years old in 1861, and a December 11, 1841 article in the ''Flash'' that says he was born "some forty years ago".〕 – March 2, 1861) was an American singer, stage actor, and newspaper editor. He rose to prominence as a blackface performer (possibly the first American to do so) after performing "Coal Black Rose", "Zip Coon", and similar songs. He later turned to a career in journalism, during which he earned the enmity of members of the upper class for his frequent allegations against them. At age 15, Dixon joined the circus, where he quickly established himself as a singer. In 1829, he began performing "Coal Black Rose" in blackface; this and similar songs would propel him to stardom. In contrast to his contemporary Thomas D. Rice, Dixon was primarily a singer rather than a dancer. He was by all accounts a gifted vocalist, and much of his material was quite challenging. "Zip Coon" became his trademark song. By 1835, Dixon considered journalism to be his primary vocation. His first major paper was ''Dixon's Daily Review'', which he published from Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1835. He followed this in 1836 with ''Dixon's Saturday Night Express'', published in Boston. By this point, he had taken to using his paper to expose what he considered the misdeeds of the upper classes. These stories earned him many enemies, and Dixon was taken to court on several occasions. His most successful paper was the ''Polyanthos'', which he began publishing in 1838 from New York City. Under its masthead, he challenged some of his greatest adversaries, including Thomas S. Hamblin, Reverend Francis L. Hawks, and Madame Restell. After a brief foray into hypnotism, "pedestrianism" (long-distance walking), and other pursuits, he retired to New Orleans, Louisiana. ==Dixon in blackface== Details about Dixon's childhood are scarce. The record suggests that he was born in Richmond, Virginia, probably in 1801.〔 His parents were working-class folk, perhaps a barber and a washerwoman. He may have been educated at a charity school.〔Cockrell, ''Demons'', 96.〕 Fairly detailed descriptions and portraits of Dixon survive; he had a swarthy complexion and a "splendid head of hair".〔September 19, 1841 ''Sunday Mercury''. Quoted in Cockrell, ''Demons'', 129.〕 However, the question of whether he was white or black is an open one. His enemies sometimes called him a "mulatto", a "Negro", or referred to him as "Zip Coon", the name of the black character in one of his songs. However, the weight of evidence suggests that if Dixon did have black ancestry, it was fairly remote.〔Cockrell, ''Demons'', 193 note 112.〕 A newspaper story from 1841 claims that at age 15, Dixon's singing caught the attention of a circus proprietor named West. The man convinced Dixon to join his traveling circus as a stablehand and errand boy.〔December 11, 1841 ''Flash''. Paraphrased in Cockrell 96.〕 Dixon traveled with this and other circuses for a time, and he appears as a singer and reciter of poems on bills dated from as early as February 1824. By early 1829, he had taken on the epithet "The American Buffo Singer". Over three days in late July 1829, Dixon performed "Coal Black Rose" in blackface at the Bowery, Chatham Garden, and Park theatres in New York City. The ''Flash'' characterized his audience as "crowded galleries and scantily filled boxes";〔December 11, 1841, ''Flash''. Quoted in Cockrell, ''Demons'', 96.〕 that is, mostly working-class. On September 24 at the Bowery, Dixon performed ''Love in a Cloud'', a dramatic interpretation of the events described in "Coal Black Rose" and possibly the first blackface farce.〔 These performances proved a hit, and Dixon rose to celebrity, perhaps before any other American blackface performer had done so.〔Watkins 84.〕 On December 14, Dixon's benefit at the Albany Theatre grossed $155.87, the largest take there since the opening night earlier that year.〔 Dixon performed through 1834, most frequently at New York's three major theatres. In addition to blackface song-and-dance numbers, he did whiteface songs and scenes from popular plays; much of his material was quite challenging.〔Cockrell, ''Demons'', 113.〕 Dixon's fame allowed him to pepper his material with satire and political commentary.〔Knowles 76.〕 On November 25, 1830, he sang before a crowd of 120,000 in Washington, D.C., in support of the July Revolution in France. He began selling a collection of songs and skits he had popularized called ''Dixon's Oddities'' in 1830; the book remained in print long after. Dixon mostly played to a working-class audience, including in his repertoire such songs as "The New York Fireman", which compared firefighters to the American Founding Fathers. Oratory made up another facet of his act; on December 4, 1832, the ''Baltimore Patriot'' reported that Dixon would read an address from the President at the Front Street Theatre.〔Cockrell, ''Demons'', 97.〕 In 1833, he started a small newspaper called the Stonington ''Cannon''. However, the publication saw little success, and by January 1834, he was performing again, now with new talents, such as ventriloquism. Dixon seemed untarnished by his yearlong hiatus. Reviews said that "his voice seems formed of the music itself—'' 'it thrills'', it animates' . . . ."〔''Bedford Enquirer'', quoted on January 18, 1834 ''Harrisburg Pennsylvania Telegraph''. Quoted in Cockrell, ''Demons'', 113. Emphasis in original.〕 The ''Telegraph'' wrote, Few Melodists have gained more celebrity or been so universally admired, ... The many effusions from the pen of this gentleman independent of his vocal powers, is sufficient proof of his being a man of considerable talent and originality—you should hear him sing his national air "on a wing that beamed in glory" (it would be ) unnecessary for us to enlarge on his merits as a vocalist—for his Melodies display a feeling of Patriotism which attracts the attention of every beholder.〔''Bedford Enquirer'', quoted in the January 18, 1834''Harrisburg Pennsylvania Telegraph''. Quoted in Cockrell, ''Demons'', 98.〕 In March, Dixon performed "Zip Coon" for the first time. Although Dixon had previously sung "Long Tail Blue", another racist tale about a black "dandy" trying to fit into Northern white society,〔Damon, S. Foster (1936). ''Series of Old American Songs''. Providence: Brown University Library. Quoted in Lewis 257.〕 "Zip Coon" garnered acclaim and quickly became an audience favorite and Dixon's trademark tune. He later claimed to have written the song, although others performed it before him, so this seems unlikely.〔 Dixon accompanied his singing with an earthy jig.〔Knowles 76–7.〕 On July 7, the Farren Riots erupted. Young men in New York City targeted the homes, businesses, churches, and institutions of black New Yorkers and abolitionists. On the night of July 9, the mob stormed the Bowery Theatre. Manager Thomas S. Hamblin failed to quell them, and actor Edwin Forrest did not meet their expectations when they ordered him to perform. According to the ''New York Sun'': Mr. Dixon, the singer (an American,) now made his appearance. "Let us have Zip Coon," exclaimed a thousand voices. The singer gave them their favorite song, amidst peals of laughter,—and his Honor the Mayor, who as the old woman said of her husband, is a "good-natured, easy fellow," made his appearance, delivered a short speech, made a low bow, and went out. Dixon, who had produced such amazing good nature with "Zip Coon," next addressed them—and they soon quietly dispersed.〔July 11, 1834 ''New York Sun''. Quoted in Cockrell, ''Demons'', 100.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Washington Dixon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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