Ernest Hogan

Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909) was the first African-American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show (The Oyster Man in 1907) and helped to popularize the musical genre of ragtime.

A native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, as a teenager Hogan worked in traveling minstrel shows as a dancer, musician, and comedian. In 1895 Hogan composed several popular songs in a new musical genre, which he named ragtime. These hit songs included "La Pas Ma La" and "All Coons Look Alike to Me". The success of this last song created many derogatory imitations, known as "coon songs" because of their use of racist and stereotypical images of blacks.

While Hogan was considered one of the most talented performers and comedians of his day, his contribution to the racist "coon song" craze haunted him. Before his death, he stated that he "regretted" using the racial slur in his song.

He was born Ernest Reuben Crowders, in the Shake Rag District of Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1865. Little to nothing is known about his childhood, but as a teenager, he traveled with a minstrel troupe called the Georgia Graduate, where he performed as a dancer, musician, and comedian. During this time he changed his name to Hogan because "Irish performers were in vogue." A few years after changing his name to Hogan, Ernest starting finding success in solo acts in New York City. Hogan likely performed in blackface during this time, as he sometimes did later in his career.

Ernest Hogan was believed to have been married twice. First, to a youthful musician named Mattie Wilkes, who was believed to be only fifteen at the time. He was later reportedly married to a women named Louise, who helped him organized concerts in the early 1900s. The dates of these marriages are not precisely known, and Hogan did not have children with either of them.

It was also during this time that Hogan created a comedy dance called the "pasmala", which consisted of a walk forward with three steps back. In 1895, he wrote and composed a song based on this dance called "La Pas Ma La". The song's chorus was:

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