ABSTRACT
When it comes to music, philosophers pay due attention to general considerations regarding the nature of certain sounds, live or recorded, or to the creation of those sounds, perhaps through inscribed notations, which surely constitute the data of their inquiries. Blackface entertainment raises the issue of imitation and origin in American music generally: that whites "took" black music and made it their own: that music that is somehow essentially black was co-opted by whites. It might seem odd to bring together two such different American vocal icons as Armstrong and Crosby. Although remnants of blackface theatre could be found well into the twentieth century, it is hard to believe that at one time it was the most popular entertainment available to American audiences. No doubt, the skills of blackface entertainers in minstrel theatre reached very high levels, and were often appreciated as such.
