Billy Golden, Monarch of Recorded Minstrelsy

When listening to acoustic era recordings, some performers will usually turn people off right away, one of these performers is Billy Golden. He specialized in black American songs and imitations, which understandably may not be for everyone. Oftentimes his recordings present a more unusual look into what midwestern ragtime and music sounded like long before 1890. While we don’t know very much about him, he is still quite interesting. He was born William Shires in Cincinnati in 1858 (or around that year), at a time when the city was a hotbed for music and culture. Some ragtime historians actually debate whether Cincinnati might indeed be the city where the genre originated, or at least the region around it. He initially was working as an assistant to a local gauger by 1870 (age 12 or so). Also at that time, he was living with who, based on my research, was likely a cousin of his named Imogene, who worked as an actress. It is very possible that she was partially responsible for his entrance into performance. According to the 1911 book Monarchs of Minstrelsy, by 1874 he was performing in the Ohio valley area. He began his 50-plus year career as a dancer, and this would prove clear upon listening to his later recordings. He likely performed there and in the Pennsylvania area for a few more years until he settled in Washington DC by around 1878. Around this time he also met his future