Mr. Bill Egan is a good friend of mine whom I never met or spoken to in the flesh...I was actually made aware of Mr. Egan's existence, who lives in Australia, when I accidently stumbled upon his website almost 6 years ago...I was thoroughly impressed with his website for its thorough and meticulous detail and information on some of the U.S.A.'s greatest Black performers of the early 20th Century...As a matter of fact Mr. Egan is one of the world's greatest experts on the incredible life and career of Florence Mills...He has just recently wrote and published the definitive and only biography on Florence Mills, an effort and labor of love which took him 10 years to complete...The name of the book is Florence Mills: Harlem: Jazz Queen...For about 4 years I have been keeping correspondence with Mr. Egan through e-mail and he has been very generous in answering the following 21 questions...
21 Questions for Bill about Florence Mills
1.) When was the first time you heard jazz??? Who was it by???
My most vivid early memory is seeing the movie The Strip, with Mickey Rooney as a jazz drummer, and featuring Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines and many others. In my web site I also describe (see http://www.tip.net.au/~wegan/tdesnews.htm) how exposure to the AFN (American Forces Network) radio from Germany introduced me to an exciting type of music that supplanted my interest in conventional pop.
2.) Why should we remember Florence Mills?
That she was an extraordinarily talented performer who changed the nature of Black entertainment and thereby American popular culture, paving the way for generations of African American stars, is in itself reason enough. When you add to that her remarkable personal character, charitable nature and early outspokenness on racial equality she is a treasure that should not be lost.
3.) When was the first time you heard about Florence Mills?
Probably sometime in 1993, after retirement from work and listening to more Ellington music, especially earlier Twenties and Thirties. "Black Beauty" fascinated me and I was amazed that with my knowledge of people like Ethel Waters, Adelaide Hall, Lena Horne, Josephine Baker, Valaida Snow I had never heard of the person this lovely music was written for.
4.) How long did it take you to write the book?
Pretty much ten years all up, which included four trips to USA and Europe from Australia
5.) What has been the response to the book? Have you gotten any negative responses?
No negatives, lots of very good reviews. Click here to see a summary selection of reviews on the publisher's web site or more detail on my web site. It's classified as an academic book so doesn't get onto the shelves of the big stores with huge sales figures but sales are steady, especially to libraries and universities. People who know the history have been very generous in their feedback.
7.) What can the United States do to honor Florence Mills' legacy?
Well, the little state of Grenada honored her with a postage stamp so perhaps the US could do the same. Otherwise a statue or memorial somewhere in Harlem would be good, perhaps either near the Duke Ellington memorial or at the site near the Dunbar Apartments where Bill "Bojangles" Robinson wanted a memorial drinking fountain for her.
8.) Can you share with us some of the things you had to do and endure in order to write such an important book?
The biggest problem was being located in Australia, far away from most reference sources. I had to fund all the travel costs from my own pocket - very expensive but also enjoyable because of all the great people I got to meet. Also a big problem was that I was starting so long after Florence's death and so many of the key players had passed on but I was lucky enough to find a few who had known or performed with her - even those are gone now, alas.
9.) Why do you think that some of the best books about jazz and its creators are written outside of the United States?
The Europeans, especially the French (and more recently the Scandinavians) have always had a clearer grasp of the cultural importance of jazz than Americans - something to do with a prophet being without honor in his own country! Many of the cultural leaders of the Harlem Renaissance (e.g. Du Bois, White) believed that African Americans would earn respect and status in White eyes by achievements in the European classical canon, failing to appreciate the gems they had in their own Black tradition - blues, spirituals, jazz etc.
10.) Are you a musician? If so what instrument(s) and genre(s) of music do you play? I'm a frustrated would-be musician; I dabbled in several instruments (piano, guitar) but don't have the ear. I used to be able to play some traditional Irish tunes on the tune whistle but even that's gone now.
Florence and her husband comedian and dancer U.S. 'Slow Kid' Thompson 
I loved the 21 questions and responses from author, Bill Egan. I gain alot of knowledge in a short time on a great icon, Florence Mills. I do plan on visiting his site and learning as much as I can. I thank Mr. Egan for taking the time to share his thoughts with us, the reader. May he continue to be bless abundantly. cth
Posted by: cth | July 17, 2006 at 12:16 PM