James Hubert Blake, born on February 7, 1883, is truly a "National Treasure" and an American Classic. Blake completed his first composition in 1899, the same year Scott Joplin gained public recognition with this Maple Leaf Rag. Blake was still composing at the age of 98. His skills as a performer and entertainer are well documented on records and piano rolls, in concerts and television appearances. However, the full extent of his compositional talents has yet to be fully recognized and appreciated. One reason for Blake's appeal as a composer is that he spans so much of our American culture and so many changes in contemporary musical styles. Quoting from Robert Kimball and William Balcom in Reminiscing with Sissie and Blake, "Eubie was to be influenced by nearly every Rag pianist he came into contact with through those [early] years, just as he was to influence many others. His open pair of ears took in and digested much other music too: Victor Herbert, Franz Lehar, Oskar Strauss, and the light classics, Grieg and Wagner were also bouncing around inside his head; it was all music and all fascinating."
