Emmett "Babe" Wallace audio collection

id
11789
origination
Wallace, Emmett Babe, 1909-2006
date statement
circa 1960-1972
key date
1960
identifier (local_mss)
186691
org unit
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division
call number
Sc MIRS Wallace 1978-03
b-number
b22780541
total components
6
total series
0
max depth
1
boost queries
(none)
component layout
Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields
false
Extended Navigation
false
created
2024-12-13 16:23:37 UTC
updated
2026-06-26 21:50:40 UTC
status note
(missing)
Display Aeon link
true

Description data TOP

unitid
{"value"=>"186691", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b22780541", "type"=>"local_b"}
{"value"=>"Sc MIRS Wallace 1978-03", "type"=>"local_call"}
unitdate
{"value"=>"circa 1960-1972", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1960/1972", "certainty"=>"approximate"}
unittitle
{"value"=>"Emmett \"Babe\" Wallace audio collection"}
physdesc
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"6 audio_recordings", "unit"=>"audio_recordings"}]}
repository
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division</span>"}
abstract
{"value"=>"Emmett \"Babe\" Wallace (June 24, 1909-December 3, 2006) was a composer, singer, writer, and actor from Brooklyn, New York, who recorded under the name Babe Wallace. The collection contains six audio recordings of music and poetry by Babe Wallace, dating from circa 1960 to 1972."}
langmaterial
{"value"=>"English"}
origination
{"value"=>"Wallace, Emmett Babe, 1909-2006", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist
{"value"=>"<p>Emmett \"Babe\" Wallace (June 24, 1909-December 3, 2006) was a composer, singer, writer, and actor from Brooklyn, New York, who recorded under the name Babe Wallace. He composed songs for jazz bandleaders such as Cab Calloway and Ben Smith. His poems have appeared in publications such as <span class=\"title\">Glowchild</span> (1972), an anthology of poetry for young people edited by poet, actress, and activist Ruby Dee.</p> <p>During the 1930s and early 1940s, Babe Wallace worked and performed at clubs and hotels in Boston, New York City, and the Catskill Mountains, as well as locations in Canada. From 1947 until 1964, he sought opportunities as a Black American expatriate artist in countries such as Israel (1956-1962), where he recorded \"Dizengoff,\" \"Where Can I Go,\" and other songs in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew.</p> <p>In addition to composing music and poetry, he also appeared in cabarets, theater, and films, including <span class=\"title\">Stormy Weather</span> (1943) alongside Cab Calloway and actress Lena Horne; the stage production of <span class=\"title\">Anna Lucasta</span> when it toured in London, United Kingdom, (1947-1948); and performances at the Folies Bergère in Paris, France, (1952-1955).</p>"}
scopecontent
{"value"=>"<p>The collection contains six audio recordings of music and poetry by Babe Wallace, dating from circa 1960 to 1972. They are organized chronologically, and then alphabetically by title. Titles were devised by the archivist.</p> <p>Interspersed among Babe Wallace's songs and poems are short reflections about them, including the locations and dates where some of them were composed, as well as the dreams, personal experiences, and political issues that inspired them.</p> <p>The original format of the recordings was audio reel, with many items containing two or more parts. Square brackets indicate partial information or unclear spelling.</p>"}
acqinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Emmett Wallace, 1972.</p>"}
separatedmaterial
{"value"=>"<p>See the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division for the Emmett \"Babe\" Wallace papers, Sc MG 56.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>See the Photographs and Prints Division for the photographs.</p>"}
processinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Collection inventoried by <span class=\"name\">Christopher Arena</span>. Collection processed and described by <span class=\"name\">Lyric Evans-Hunter</span>, archivist. Finding aid published in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
relatedmaterial
{"value"=>"<p>See the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division for titles containing poetry by Babe Wallace.</p>"}
sponsor
{"value"=>"An anonymous donor funded preliminary processing for this collection. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported a research library-wide grant for the digitization, and funded the Schomburg for the description and production of the finding aid as part of The Next Century of Black Studies Project."}
revisiondesc
{"value"=>"Scope and content notes, and extent notes updated to facilitate public access by Lyric Benjamin-Hunter.", "date"=>"2026-05-27"}
date_start
1960
keydate
1960
date_end
1972
date_inclusive_start
1960
date_inclusive_end
1972
prefercite
{"value"=>"Emmett \"Babe\" Wallace audio collection, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, The New York Public Library"}

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