Polk Miller And His Old South Quartette

Polk Miller & His Old South Quartette, later known as "The Old South Quartette," was an American vocal ensemble established in the late 1890s by Polk Miller (1844—1913), a white musician and entrepreneur from Richmond, Virginia. He toured the United States with four black vocalists between 1900 and 1911, gaining national prominence as one of the first mixed-race performing groups. The Old South Quartet was among the earliest African-American ensembles to produce commercial audio records for Edison Amberol Record in December 1909 — after Unique Quartette (December 1890) and Standard Quartette (August 1891) on New York Phonograph Co. and Dinwiddie Colored Quartet (Victor Talking Machine Co., October 1902). Miller quit Old South Quartette in 1911 as they began getting racist threats and died two years later at 69; the group continued to perform as an "all-black" outfit until the early 1930s. Polk Miller grew up in Virginia and learned to play banjo from black slaves on his father's plantation. After serving with the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, he established a prolific drugstore business (also selling veterinary supplies). In 1892, Miller began performing music professionally and embarked on a solo tour across the South, singing and playing banjo and telling stories. With his pharmacy business providing enough passive income, Polk didn't have to rely on his music career for financial gain and spent most of the earnings on church repairs, Confederate monuments, and supporting Civil War veterans. Circa 1900, Polk Miller established The Old South Quartette with four African-American singers and began touring with "Stories, Sketches & Songs" variety show. Polk never wore blackface but still adopted the "Old Virginia Plantation Negro" alias, performing spirituals and other traditionally black repertoire, like James A. Bland's "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny." In the early 1900s, Miller and Quartet also performed with Col. Thomas Hobson "Marse Tom" Booker (1844—1928), who joined as the storyteller in "Two Old Confederates in Old Times Down South" program (second photo, sitting on the chair). The ensemble gave concerts at colleges, military schools, black churches, and social clubs in Boston, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. The Old South Quartette appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York, presented on stage by Mark Twain. Despite glorifying African-American music and proudly fronting an all-black ensemble, Polk Miller didn't support racial equality or civil rights, explicitly embracing slavery and Confederacy ideology his entire life. Polk Miller and his Old South Quartette Over twenty vocalists performed in the quartet over the years, with many names and biographies still undiscovered: Polk Miller — tenor, banjo, guitar Randall Graves, Anderson Epps — 1st tenor Clarence Smith — 2nd tenor James L. Stamper, Alphonso DeWitt — bass Archie Johnson, Walter Lightfoot — baritone