Cecil Mack

Cecil Mack, born Richard Cecil McPherson on November 6, 1873, in Portsmouth, Virginia, was an American composer, lyricist, music publisher, and Broadway performer. His birthdate appears variously in historical records as 1876, 1880, 1883, and 1891, though both the 1880 Federal Census and a Navy Enlistment Record from 1891 support the 1873 year. He pursued his education at Norfolk Mission College and Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, graduating with the class of 1897, before relocating to New York City, where the 1900 Federal Census recorded his occupation as stenographer.

Mack began his songwriting career in 1901 with "Good Morning, Carrie," co-written with J. Tim Brymn. In May 1905, he co-founded the Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company in New York City, an enterprise recognized as likely the first Black-owned music publishing company in the United States. By July 1906, The New York Age identified him as the company's secretary, treasurer, and general business director. That same year he contributed the lyric "All in Down and Out." His 1907 work included lyrics for the musical The Black Politician, and in 1908 he co-wrote "You're In the Right Church (But the Wrong Pew)" with Chris Smith.

Among his most enduring contributions was the 1923 song "Charleston," co-written with James P. Johnson, as well as "Old Fashioned Love," also created with Johnson for the Broadway musical Runnin' Wild. Mack's Broadway career extended from 1930 to 1931 and encompassed four productions: Swing!, Runnin' Wild, Rhapsody in Black, and Blackbirds. He co-wrote the music for Rhapsody in Black in 1931. In 1925, he co-wrote the book for Mooching Along and organized a choral ensemble called the Southland Singers.

On April 8, 1912, Mack married Dr. Gertrude Curtis in Manhattan. Curtis was a pioneering African American dentist who maintained a practice in Harlem. The marriage lasted until Mack's death, and the couple had no children.

Mack died in Manhattan on August 1, 1944, at the age of 70. His obituary, quoted by The New York Age from The Christian Science Monitor, noted that his songs were pure fun, never contained an off-color line, and were considered typically representative of the pre-radio era.