A few African -American composers are well-known through their popular songs--Duke Ellington, Thomas "Fats" Waller and Eubie Blake are perhaps the best examples. Their works are still performed today and each of them has, in fact, been the subject of a Broadway musical. More significantly, their songs are usually identified with their respective composers. But there are also the composers of many other important songs who deserve our attention--Sheldon Brooks ("Some of These Days"), Spencer Williams ("I've Found a New Baby"), Maceo Pinkard ("Sweet Georgia Brown"), Turner Layton ("After You've Gone") and many others. We will explore the songs of all of these composers and others who contributed a very important part of our popular song legacy.