Passings Duly Noted: The Tale of The Bronze Buckaroo, A Man of Many Colors

When Duke Ellington asked the smooth baritone, Herb Jeffries, to record "Flamino" for this short film, the singer had never before heard the song. Nonetheless, he sang what would become his signature song in just one take. With an otherworldly lyric that presaged later misterioso ballads such as "Nature Boy", the sensuous ballet interlude and The Ellington Orchestra providing a majestic cushion, this three minutes of elegant artistry provided Jeffries with the crown to his legacy. 

Herb Jeffries (b. September 24, 2013 - d. May 25, 2014) was born Umberto Alexander Valentino in Detroit. His mother was white and his father reportedly Sicilian, Ethiopean, French, Italian and Moorish.  Mr. Jeffries identified himself as being "3/8 Negro".  

In an age when many light-skinned African-Americans attempted to "pass" as Caucasian, Jeffries, who was blue-eyed and brown haired, darkened his skin in order to enhance his employability with the all-black big bands of the day.  (Later in life, for reasons of convenience and necessity, he "reverse-passed" as white.) 

In his darkened guise, he worked as a big band singer for the Duke Ellington and Earl Hines Orchestras in the 1930's and continued appearing in concert through the end of the century. 

In the 1940's, he was the first "Negro" movie star, cast as a singing cowboy in a series of low budget westerns and billed as "The Bronze Buckaroo". The irony of his racial heritage was largely overlooked until he was "outed" as being white by Jet magazine in the 1950's. 

On the issue of his racial identity, Jeffries stated:  "... I'm not passing, I never have, I never will. For all these years I've been wavering about the color question on the blanks. Suddenly I decided to fill in the blank the way I look and feel. Look at my blue eyes, look at my brown hair, look at my color. What color do you see? My mother was 100 per cent white. My father is Portuguese, Spanish, American Indian, and Negro. How in the hell can I identify myself as one race or another?"

As of this writing, Mr. Jeffries is alive and well at 99 years of age. For more about this obscure but fascinating performer, follow this link. 

Update: Herb Jeffries, the man of many colors, passed away on May 25, 2014 at age 100.