Letters to the editor regarding the origin of the song “Shoo fly, don’t bodder me”

Event Information

Venue(s):

Record Information

Status:
Published

Last Updated:
14 November 2021

Performance Date(s) and Time(s)

15 Mar 1870

Performers and/or Works Performed

1)
"Shoo fly, don't bodder me"
aka Shoo fly don't bother me; Shu fly don't bother me; Shew fly don’t bother me
Composer(s): Howard

Citations

1)
Article: New York Sun, 15 March 1870, 2.

Two letters, the first claiming that the song originated a year ago at a negro ball in Norfolk, Virginia, and was carried away and repeated by Frank Gerard, a minstrel; the second, that Rollin Howard is the copyright holder.