James Bland was an African-American musician and composer who wrote many songs about the American South for use in minstrel shows. His most famous was Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (1878), which became the official State Song of Virginia, being retired in 1997 due to racial controversies. Bland was born in Flushing, New York on October 22, 1854, one of eight children to educated free parents. His father bought him an eight-dollar banjo and Bland was soon performing professionally by his early te...
Read more: Imdb
