In January 2002 American Legacy sponsored an event at Macy’s in Herald Square in New York City that featured Harry Belafonte, the actor, singer, and activist. He had just produced a CD called The Long Road to Freedom: An Anthology of Black Music, featuring more than 50 artists and covering three centuries. It includes everything from chants, field hollers, and spirituals to folk ballads, work songs, and blues. As I watched the many people standing in line to have Belafonte sign their box sets, I was reminded of the great history that this music represents and the influence that many African-Americans have had on all types of music.

I thought about that day again several months ago, when we first discussed devoting an entire issue of American Legacy to music. Of course we realized that we would not be able to cover everything and everybody in one special issue. What we hoped to do is share with you stories of great musicians from our past, some you may not know of, others who are famous but whose rich lives may have become overshadowed by our popular, sometimes two-dimensional notions of them.

Sammy Davis, Jr.’s image as a pop icon—the chain-smoking hipster who thinks everything is “cool”—is often all younger generations know of the entertainer. Yet he was a straight-up, all-around talent: dancer, actor, musician, and singer. “The Candy Man” may be the song you think of when you think of Sammy, but he was a tremendous vocalist in his own right, as Will Friedwald explains in the article that begins on page 64.

Before Leslie Uggams, Eartha Kitt, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Heather Headley lit up the stage in such productions as Timbuktu, Hallelujah, Baby!, Dreamgirls, and Aida, there was the phosphorescent Florence Mills. In the 1920s Mills knocked out audiences both at home and abroad with her dance moves and clear-as-a-bell soprano voice, which could touch even the toughest critics. Her life was short, but her impact tremendous. David Lander introduces us to this fascinating woman beginning on page 46.

When thinking of African-Americans in country music, the person who first comes to mind is Charley Pride. But more than four decades before Pride made his mark at the hallowed Grand Ole Opry, DeFord Bailey was one of country music’s first black stars. His story, as told by Rick Petreycik, begins on page 15.

African-Americans will continue to change the American musical landscape—witness hip-hop and rap, already three decades old. One day, artists from those genres may find their way into the pages of American Legacy magazine. Today, though, we hope you enjoy this issue devoted to their musical ancestors.

RODNEY J. REYNOLDS, Publisher