Clinton "Dusty" Fletcher (1897 - March 15, 1954) was an African-American vaudeville performer who was best known for the comedy routine which became a hit record in 1947, "Open the Door, Richard". Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s " Open the Door Richard " was a hit
Life
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Fletcher had refined his act over at least twenty years in vaudeville before the 1940s. He would come on stage dressed in rags, acting drunk, muttering and complaining about trying to find his way home. He would then bring out a ladder, and try to set it up so he could get in through a window. Every so often he would crash sprawling on the floor while shouting "Open the Door, Richard !"[1].
In 1946, bandleader Jack McVea fashioned Fletcher's routine into the lyrics of a song, which he recorded with his band. Jack McVea ( November 5, 1914 &ndash December 27, 2000) was an American swing, Blues, and Rhythm and blues McVea's record became a big hit, and Fletcher, by now semi-retired, was found living in South Carolina by Herb Abramson of National Records[2]. Herbert C Abramson ( November 16, 1916 &ndash November 9, 1999) was an American record company executive and producer National Records was a Record label that was started in New York by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted till sometime in 1950. He made his own recording of the song, using McVea's arrangement, which made # 3 on the Billboard R&B charts. See Billboard (Turkish magazine Billboard is a weekly American Magazine devoted to the Music industry The song was also covered by many others including Count Basie, Louis Jordan, and Pigmeat Markham. William "Count" Basie ( August 21, 1904 &ndash April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, Organist Louis Jordan ( July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American Jazz, Blues and Rhythm & blues Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham ( April 18, 1904 in Durham, North Carolina &ndash December 13, 1981 in The Bronx
National Records began a law suit to claim Fletcher's royalties as the originator of the routine which led to McVea's hit. However, a blackface vaudeville comedian, John "Spider Bruce" Mason then claimed that Fletcher had originally stolen the routine from him in the 1920s. Blackface in the narrow sense is a style of theatrical Makeup that originated in the United Eventually, McVea, Fletcher and Mason were all co-credited with writing McVea's version[3].
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) publicly attacked the song, particularly Fletcher's version, for making light of public drunkenness and playing on the stereotype of black men as shiftless and ignorant. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is one of the oldest and most influential Civil rights organizations
Fletcher continued to perform the routine, particularly at the Apollo Theatre in New York, until shortly before his death.
References
- ^ Black Entertainers
- ^ The Doo Wop Cafe and Doo Wop Cafe Radio site
- ^ Jim Dawson and Steve Propes, What Was The First Rock'n'Roll Record, 1992, ISBN 0-571-12939-0
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