From the Bold Soldier Boy’s Songbook to the Cylinders of George W. Johnson

This chapter focuses on “Goodbye Liza Jane,” the most popular “Liza Jane” variant in nineteenth century popular culture. It begins with minstrelsy bandleader Eddie Fox, who in 1871 published the first known piece of sheet music in the “Liza Jane” family of songs. An examination of Fox’s lyrics reveals the presence of several “floating verses” from earlier minstrel pieces. By the time George W. Johnson became the first person to record “Liza Jane” lyrics in 1898, “Goodbye Liza Jane” had become an international “hit,” having been performed in the United States, England, South Africa, and New Zealand. Johnson is widely regarded as the first African American recording star, and he projects his garrulous laughing skills onto these early cylinder recordings.