The Unreleased 1969 Eubie Blake Interview with Mike Lipskin and Rudi Blesh

March 30, 1969. Recorded in the house of Marion and Eubie Blake. 284A Stuyvesant Avenue. Brooklyn, NY 11221
A blessing to be shared over FIVE HOURS of this. Raw, pure, conversation. Music. Songs that Eubie never recorded. The voice of his lovely wife, the powerhouse. A young Mike's piano playing. The sounds of pedestrians and traffic outside. For some of us, this "personal" step back in time is indescribable, for in reality many of us would crave nothing more than to sit down for a cup of coffee with one of our favorite musicians and talk life.
Note: This is how I received the digital transfers of this interview. The tapes are not smooth flowing between transitions, so there are missing portions of conversation. I am not 100 percent sure this is in order either, I am going by how the files were labeled.There are numerous important parts in this video but I will mainly timestamp when Eubie and or Mike play at the piano, and very significant portions due to word limits.
00:00 The Interview starts off. Eubie is playing "The Robin and the Red, Red Rose" By Luckey Roberts. Conversation about Luckey Roberts.
04:45 Eubie plays "I'm Just Wild About Harry" Followed by an introduction, asking Eubie about birth place, government name, butt whippings, etc.
11:45 Eubie tells the story of the family purchasing a pump organ
17:45 Eubie plays "Marching Through Georgia," continues telling story
19:29 "I've heard ragtime all my life," plays his usual funeral march example , talks about bands, Charlie Harris, learning to play cornet
26:55 Eubie plays "I'm Coming Virginia"
28:30 Eubie talks about his mother making him self conscious about his long fingers, child psychology, siblings.
31:40 Eubie talks about his father showing his whips from slavery days, walnut cracking joke
(It is sweet to hear Eubie laugh )
32:25 Transition to another tape, speaks about The Belmont, Jim Europe, Noble Sissle, Madison Reed....Why Eubie chose certain lines of piano work
47:00 Eubie plays and sings Goodnight My Angeline, Vaudeville skits
01:04:30 Eubie plays "Britwood Rag"
01:06:40 Tape recorder transition- Eubie is now playing "Fizz Water"
01:09:25 Eubie plays "Junk Man Rag" segment. Talk of Luckey again.
01:13:20 Eubie talking about James P. and Fats, Freddie Bryant,
01:16:32 playing like 'Freddie Bryant", proceeds to play Maori, talk about sleeping disorder
01:19:00 We hear some more of Eubie's Charming laugh and a little playing, mention of Willie The Lion, playing the classics
01:23:25 Eubie plays "Till The Sands Of The Desert Grows Cold"
01:24:30 "Did you know the Beetle?" Willie Gant,
01:25:45 Transition, Eubie plays "Fantasy On Suwanne River" the same piece that he played twice for the Deforest sound films. Hope you have kleenex nearby. Very emotional. Proceeds to converse.
01:41:09 Eubie plays "Love Will find A Way" segment. Talking continues, talking about Shuffle Along
01:45:15 Tape change. Crazy Blues. Record Firms. Prejudice issues.
01:56:00 Eubie plays segments from "Tell Me Pretty Maiden (Sextet from Floradora)"
01:59:52 Eubie plays segment of "Bugle Call Rag"
02:02:00 Eubie plays "The Dream"
02:17:00 Eubie plays and sings unpublished first song, then sings and plays "It's All Your Fault."
02:21:30 Eubie plays "Let It Alone" and "Nobody"
02:44:00 Eubie plays and sings snippets from the past. Main bulk is "goodnite my Angeline", Pickaninny Shoes,
02:53:52 Eubie talks about piano rolls
02:58:00 Eubie plays and sings "Dixie moon"
03:14:00 Eubie plays and sings "Manda," Valaida Snow, etc
03:16:00 Roger Williams, Eubie plays "A Million Little Cupids In The Sky," plays it again later in discussion, talking about out of key
03:21:13 Eubie plays "Jazzamine Lane"
03:25:20 Eubie plays a song he can't remember that Lottie Gee sang. Talks about sheet music and paperwork he has, damage to the upstairs ceiling.
03:28:00 Tape change, Eubie plays "Blackbirds On Parade" Talk about the war, time in the USO, James P. Johnson, Bill Taylor, Abba Labba
03:58:00 Tape change, improvising Eubie plays an "Overture", praises Gershwin, later mentions it's a part of a "Fantasy" that he wrote. Proceeds to talk about Blues, Church music
04:04:25 Eubie plays "Amazing Grace", follows up with chit chats, WPA, sheet music
04:11:41 Eubie plays "Ain't We Got Love" which is did not officially record until 1976
04:17:25 Eubie plays and sings "You're Lucky To Me"
04:20:00 Eubie plays "BlackBirds on Parade" (Since he plays it at an earlier time, It is possible that these segments were out of order)
04:45:45 Eubie Plays "Black Keys on Parade," "Old Fashioned Love", "Baltimore Buzz"
04:54:00 Eubie plays "Sweetie Dear," Marion sings in the background, "Lovey Joe", "Teasin Rag"
05:03:30 Repeat of Time stamp onward, Concluding with Mike and Eubie playing duets. Mike plays "Pagan Love Song" in the style of Donald Lambert. Alexander's Ragtime Band. Baltimore Buzz. If I could Be With You One Hour tonite. Charleston. The Man I love. Tape recorder cuts off, FIN.